Pep Guardiola: Tottenham have made me eat my words over 'the Harry Kane team' comment

Pep Guardiola faces Mauricio Pochettino at Wembley on Monday night conceding that Tottenham have made him eat his words over his claim last season that Spurs were “the Harry Kane team”.

The Manchester City manager offended Pochettino and Monday’s opponents with his glib comment, which appeared intended more to praise their striker than belittle his team-mates.

But with Spurs in the thick of the early title chase, despite Kane struggling to rediscover his form of recent seasons, Guardiola was happy to withdraw his comment.

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The City manager also believes Tottenham’s development is proof that Pochettino deserves to be considered among the world’s current elite coaches, rather than a “prospect” for the future.

“They show me how wrong I was,” Guardiola said. “I think he is already a top coach, not the next [generation of coaches]. For many years, he is training at a high level.

“He did an incredible job at Espanyol and Southampton and especially here at Tottenham. I have a lot of respect for the job he has done in his career so he is already a reality as a manager, no doubt.

“He has been linked many times with Real Madrid. He can answer that question but I don’t know what happens. What I think is Mr Levy is not an easy guy to negotiate with.”

Guardiola’s joke about Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy’s reluctance to entertain the prospect of Pochettino leaving is a compliment in itself. The City manager has vivid recollections of his first defeat in English football, at White Hart Lane in Oct 2016, which he now views as a harsh lesson about the realities of the Premier League.

Guardiola, however, has drawn one and won the other two meetings with Pochettino and claims Spurs may have been a tougher proposition at their old ground than they are at their temporary Wembley home.

“In White Hart Lane it was completely different from Wembley. Tottenham feel more comfortable at home,” he said.

“That is going to happen in your stadium. We are more comfortable at the Etihad Stadium. But when I analysed this game, I realised this is the Premier League. I felt, ‘wow’.

“People said in that period, ‘City are going to win the Premier League’ and in that game I realised, when I saw how physical they are, how good they are, how [they play] high press, how many good things they do – this is a team.”

With Kevin De Bruyne back to full fitness and Fabian Delph also returning from injury on Monday night, midfielder Ilkay Gundogan remains City’s only injury absentee.