Manchester City F.C.
·27 January 2022
Power praises crucial role played by City's pool of leaders
Power praises crucial role played by City's pool of leaders | OneFootball
Former City skipper Paul Power believes the Club's core group of on-field leaders are helping to play a crucial role in our quest for success.
Under Pep Guardiola’s inspired stewardship, City have established a model which sees the first-team squad select a pool of skippers at the start of each season.
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It’s an approach which has seen the likes of Ruben Dias, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan all skipper the Club this term alongside established Club captain Fernandinho.
And for Power – who played more than 450 games for City between 1975 and 1986, skippering the Club in the 1981 FA Cup final – it’s a structure that has helped inspire the very best out of Guardiola’s squad with the reigning champions currently nine points clear at the top of the Premier League.
“I think the core leadership group is a great idea, a really great idea,” asserted Power.
“There would always ideally be that.
“When I was captain of City I really shouldn’t have had the role when we had players like Joe Corrigan and Dennis Tueart who were far more experienced than me.
“But for some reason Malcolm Allison decided that maybe I was quite good in terms of dealing with the press and stuff like that.
“So Mal gave me the opportunity to be captain which I was obviously grateful for.
“But you always listened to the senior pros in the dressing room.
“I remember when Billy McNeill was City manager, he signed a lot of Scottish players and we had guys like Derek Parlane, Gordon Smith, Neil McNab and Jim Tolmie all come in.
“And from my experience, the more senior guys you had like that to turn to and talk to, the better it is.
“The captain gets a lot of the kudos, as he represents the dressing room. And quite rightly too as its such an honour.
“But the number of games that the teams play nowadays, also means one player isn’t going to play all the games.
“So to have all those guys be part of a strong leadership unit at a Club such as City and to represent that is a great honour.”
Power also says that the strong mentality displayed by the senior figures in the City dressing room has proved another crucial and defining factor in our success.
And he believes the way every player has been welcomed and seamlessly integrated into the City fold after joining the Club further illustrates the pivotal role of our leadership group.
“I do think it’s really important to have that group of strong leaders too,” Power added.
“Especially nowadays as the players at a club like City are all top internationals and come from all across the world with different cultures.
“Understanding those different cultures, and different languages could potentially be quite difficult in the dressing room.
“So, the more senior people you can get together to make it easy for players, particularly those who have come from a different country, to be a part of the club, the better it is.
“It’s also about respect. They are all experienced senior internationals and will rightly command that respect, so I think the leadership group is really good news in that regard too.”
Power also points to the harmony and unity in the City dressing room, qualities which have also underpinned our success over the past few years, and says they all stem from the high standards and principles laid down by manager Pep Guardiola.
And he says the common sense of unity and desire amplified throughout the squad - regardless who is selected to play each week - shows how the manager’s guiding ethos have rubbed off on the players.
“We all know that Pep’s standards are so high, and the type of people Pep wants in the dressing room says it all,” Power added.
“There is never any animosity - even if people are left out for a game.
“Everything is kept within the family
“He really susses the out the personalities within the dressing room and keeps the atmosphere as happy and tidy as the performances on the pitch.
“He’s brilliant at that aspect of the game as well.”
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