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Stan Collymore’s column for the Daily Mirror and MirrorFootball on the form of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City hit a raw nerve with the manager when it was brought up at Tuesday's press conference.

Our man wrote "if Guardiola thinks he’s going to turn up and outplay everybody in the Premier League and that teams like Watford, Leicester, Bournemouth, Southampton and Crystal Palace are going to let his Manchester City side have the ball for 90 per cent of the time and pass pretty patterns around them so they can get a result, then he is absolutely deluded.

“In fact, he is beyond deluded. And if he thinks he doesn’t need to teach tackling or one-on-one combat in training then he’ll be going back to Spain with his tail between his legs.”

Guardiola's response: "Stan Collymore?" Collymore has his say here....

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I had to have a belly laugh at the posts from blogs and websites getting giddy that Pep Guardiola, when asked about my MirrorFootball column, looked puzzled and asked: "Stan Collymore?”

They’ve had a field day, gleefully saying “he doesn’t know who you are etc” which, bearing in mind most of these journalists wouldn’t be recognised in their own front room, makes it even funnier.

If Pep doesn’t know who I am, that’s absolutely fine, all he needs to do is watch Sky Sports, there’s usually the 4-3 game (Liverpool vs Newcastle, 1996) on, or used in an advert.

(Image: Christopher Lee)

Maybe he could give the former manager of his current club, Stuart Pearce, a call and ask him about who Nottingham Forest’s greatest 11 is, managed by a true great of the game, rather than one spoon fed lots of cash to get success.

Or ask Robbie Fowler, Liverpool legend, and someone I’m sure Pep knows the name of, who his best strike partner was amongst Owen, Rush, Viduka, Shearer, Cole et al.

To be fair, managers like Pep get lots of questions from some journalists being sneaky and a maybe a little devious and get put on the back foot - such as Klopp vs Neville the other day.

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(Image: Michael Regan)

Managers under pressure like to have a pop back, and as far as I’m concerned I’m as fair game as anyone.

So if a manager feels I’m irrelevant, doesn’t know who I am or dismisses me, that’s absolutely fine.

It’s the equivalent of me questioning, like a lot of fans and even Man City fans recently, Pep’s ability in England to put a defence together worthy of the name.

Or a goalkeeper worthy of keeping out England’s No.1 on the basis that “he’s not a great footballer” - he doesn’t have to be, he just needs to make saves Pep!

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

And to all of those bloggers and journos laughing in Pep’s press conference today at my expense, I’ve won awards in YOUR industry and have a 15-year playing career to back it up.

If Pep genuinely dismisses me, just imagine what he thinks of you!

I’m comfortable not being known by Pep - Brian Clough knew who I was and rated me highly.

He was a double European Cup winner who did it from scratch, not from an Abu Dhabi or Qatar silver spoon.

I’ll make sure I state my name, National Union of Journalists' number and full address when I’m next at the Etihad, just in case Pep, just in case.