Pep Guardiola has never been one to exhibit overt displays of either petulance or pleasure when ex-pros, press, pundits and the public pontificate – positively or negatively – about his coaching capabilities within that English footballing nirvana that is the Premier League.

But even he must have permitted himself a little smile when he heard none other than Alan Shearer, a former English striker and about as English as it is possible to be, announce on BBC’s Match of the Day that this season at Manchester City Pep was “taking football to a new level.”

Lest we forget this is a coach who less than a year ago was being widely described by many as a fraud; as someone who would not be able to cut it in the Premier League and if he did manage to achieve something it would only be because of the massive financial backing he enjoyed at the Etihad.

Cheap, uneducated shots made as a jingoistic attempt to exalt the praises of their own league not by actually doing anything really exciting like win a Champions League, but by demeaning the achievements of Guardiola in other countries’ competitions.

“Yeah, he might well have done it in La Liga or the Bundesliga, but the Premier League is another story altogether,” was the rallying cry.

READ MORE: Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend

READ MORE: Who can rival Lewis Hamilton for SPOTY in 2017?

A borderline racist attack, sometimes from those who should have known better, but more often than not from that armchair army of badge-kissers, empowered by an anonymity bestowed upon them by the social networks.

Contract status

As things stand Pep has just one more season to go on the three-year deal he penned with City and although nothing by way of an extension has yet been discussed at this moment it is almost inconceivable that he will not be extending his stay in the North West of England.

All the important decision makers at the club know precisely his modus operandi and basically the plan is to sit down at the end of the season, take stock and add a further year to his contract.

I feel a two-year deal extension is not going to happen for the simple reason that it is something that he has never done, not even during his all-conquering times at Barcelona. Both on and off the field Pep is a man that has always taken full responsibility not just for his own, but also his family’s, destiny.

After the addition of another year all parties will look at the situation on an annual basis

Nothing is signed yet, but my sources are telling me that Guardiola feels that he does not have enough time left on his contract to achieve everything he wants to at the club and that is not just about merely winning pots but also about laying the foundations for what he believes can become something special.

Whatever he achieves this year – and before we get too carried away let’s be clear that so far at City he has nothing ‘silvery’ to show for his efforts – Guardiola is a past master at knowing when not to overstay his welcome. He left Barcelona when he felt he couldn’t take the club any further following an unprecedented success that made them the envy of the footballing world and a Bayern Munich that he took to three consecutive Bundesliga titles and two German Cups.

Guardiola’s coaching mantra has always steadfastly maintained three things.

Firstly what you need, over and above anything else, are the players to take you and your club where you want to go. He has said this time and time again and now answers “the players” with a mixture of disbelief and incredulity when asked repeatedly what he believes is the most important thing needed at a football club to guarantee success.

READ MORE: De Bruyne doubts City can go unbeaten

READ MORE: Klopp explains what sets City apart

View photos Pep Guardiola in the dugout More

And you can take them the way you want by coaching them for months. Only three new players were in the line up against West Brom. Most of what he is constructing now and that makes him so “special” all of a sudden is the work he has put in from day 1 and that only the blind could not see it.

Story continues