My methodology comes from the old Sporting school of coaching – because it was there that I took my first steps as a coach.

But I am always looking to the future of football, too. To how the likes of Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino are working.

For me, the future is this cat-and-mouse game within a single match: adapting to tactical changes in reaction to your opponent.

In the Europa League last season, we went to Hoffenheim. They started with a 3-5-2 formation, which changed to a 4-3-3 during the match: three strikers, full-backs advancing. We started in a 4-4-2 but ended up in a 5-4-1 to combat what they were doing.

We won that game 2-1. As a coach, it’s the game I am most proud of.

“I tell you this: there is no perfect formula. No perfect game plan. Only the one that you believe in”

If your opponent is at the same level as you, then fine – I can attack you. But if you attack a mountain, you have to do it differently.

In other games, you want to be the protagonist: to dominate the ball. But sometimes you have to accept your opponent is stronger than you. And, in this case, you have to be balanced.

As much as we would like to be Manchester City, we don’t have a Guardiola and we don’t have a Bernardo Silva. So you have to have the humility to know that every game demands a different approach. In my opinion, that has been our greatest secret.

Before a match, I give my players three key ideas. That’s all.

It’s like when you see a film and, at the end, someone asks you: “What did you take from that?”

It might be a kiss, or when the couple got married – but it will only ever be three or four things. It’s the same with the players.