'Savio, face the goal' - Man City change this summer is becoming clearer

'Savio, face the goal' - Man City change this summer is becoming clearer

Manchester City have shared some footage from training this week and Pep Guardiola was a man of few words in training

Pep Guardiola watches training

"Savio, face the goal!" So shouted Pep Guardiola at his winger as Manchester City trained last week after his team conceded in a short game.

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It may mean a lot or it may mean not very much at all as far as Savinho is concerned, but presented within nearly 14 minutes of highlights from City's week edited down by the club's in-house media it certainly painted a picture of Guardiola. Not because of what he said, but because it was one of the only things he is captured saying.

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There is plenty of action from the training pitches, including James Trafford being put through his paces with the goalkeepers in his first session since sealing a £27m return from Burnley. There is no shortage of action from the players in their first week back.

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As far as Guardiola is concerned though, he is anything but central. He can be seen shouting once or twice but otherwise all of the energy and directions for the players comes from Pepijn Lijnders and Kolo Toure.

They are two of three changes to Guardiola's backroom staff, with James French joining from Liverpool as a set-piece specialist. Toure's appointment was made permanent following a successful stint at the Club World Cup, with Carlos Vicens, Juanma Lillo and Inigo Dominguez having all departed.

Time will tell how much impact the reshuffle has, but the early noises are encouraging - and loud. It was said that the influence of the coaches last season was not enough, either for Guardiola or the players.

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In all of the sessions that journalists have been allowed to watch or that have been put out by the club, Lijnders and Toure have had no trouble imposing themselves from the start and the new dynamic has definitely been noticed by the squad.

City fans at the Etihad on Tuesday will have a rare opportunity to see this for themselves as the men's team and women's team train at the City Football Academy in front of an audience. A quirk of a strange summer for the Blues with their participation and early exit from the Club World Cup means that they are opening their doors for supporters to see them train in Manchester.

Guardiola and his players will then head to Palermo on Friday ahead of Saturday evening's friendly against their fellow City Football Group club in Sicily in what is their final friendly before they take on Wolves on Saturday August 17 in their first Premier League game.

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City's manager will have plenty to say to his players as they prepare, but his may not be the only voice heard after the summer changes.

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