Vincent Kompany: Pep Guardiola needs to stop saying I’m going to be Man City manager

Vincent Kompany has asked Pep Guardiola to stop insisting that he one day become Manchester City manager.

Kompany will be in the opposing dugout at the Etihad Stadium for the first time on Saturday when his Championship-leading side Burnley take on the Premier League champions in the FA Cup quarter-finals, but City boss Guardiola has the Belgian as his replacement referred to in the future.

Shortly after the FA Cup draw brought the two clubs together earlier in the month, Guardiola said it was Kompany’s “destiny” to manage City and he reiterated that view on Friday, saying after studying Burnley more closely he was ” more confident than ever” it would happen.

“He has to stop saying it!” said Kompany, laughing. “I’m a championship manager, I don’t know what you want from me!

“I think his priority should be to stay at Manchester City for another 10 years. Second, City are fighting to win the Champions League, we’re fighting to win the league, so I don’t think these kinds of talks make sense.

“You need the best manager in the world. I understand the question being asked because I have an affiliation with the club, but I also want to be extremely respectful of the club that I manage, so I don’t want to respond to speculation, and it’s not speculation because it is far away. fetched.

“This club means everything to me. I want this club to get better.”

Kompany has certainly drawn on what he learned under Guardiola in his own coaching but admitted much of it was just as useful in the very different environment of the Championship.

“Pep has always stayed very communicative with ex-players who have gone to the other side of the game,” he said.

“He has helped many former players after coaching them. I’m no different, but I went into the championship.

“I’ll still talk to him and have a glass of red wine after the game, but my problems in the championship, I have to deal with balls in the channels and headers and throw-ins, I’m not saying it’s a different sport, but you have to find your own solutions in the championship.

“The people I’ve spoken to are people like Steve Cooper from Nottingham Forest, Scott Parker from his time at Bournemouth, people who have come up from the Championship.”

Kompany cut communications with his friends and former team-mates in the City dressing room this week, spending Tuesday night checking video clips of midweek opponent Hull instead of following City’s 7-0 win over Leipzig in the Champions League.

But ties remain deep after Kompany’s 11-year tenure at the club, even if he doubts his inside knowledge of how Guardiola and his team worked will be of much help on Saturday night.

“The championship teams in the past that went to the Etihad, you could give them the team and the tactics and they’d still have the toughest challenge they’ve ever faced,” he said. “My only goal is to do as well as possible.”