Player power, Hugo Viana, form - Pep Guardiola is simplifying his Man City contract decision

Pep Guardiola has always said he will take a number of factors into consideration when he decides on his future.

The first caveat is that his owners have to be satisfied with results to want to give him a new deal. That has not been in doubt since 2017, with so much effort going into getting the Catalan that there was patience after a tough first season.

City's manager has also said from the first day that he will walk away when his players do not look at him in the same way and are no longer motivated in the same way. When he feels he has stopped being the best person to get through to the team, it is time to leave.

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There have certainly been challenges to his authority over the course of eight years and numerous players that have disagreed with his decisions and grown tired of his methods. They have always been in the minority though, and in his ninth season it has been striking even to Guardiola how well the squad continues to respond to what he has to say; "I'm enjoying a lot the way we are playing lately," he wrote in Saturday's programme.

The results would certainly back that up. City haven't lost at the Etihad since November 2022 and this season they are unbeaten in all competitions and at all venues. Approaching the second quarter of the Premier League, they are a point clear of their nearest challengers and seven points from nine in the Champions League keeps them on track for an automatic place in the last-16 come February.

Indecision could feasibly have been a factor, yet Guardiola - with help from the form table - is adamant there has been