Monday 7 May 2018 13:53, UK
Manchester City must invest for next season following their Premier League title win, says Graeme Souness.
Pep Guardiola's side collected the Premier League trophy following their goalless draw with Huddersfield at the Etihad Stadium, live on Super Sunday.
After a largely uneventful match, the celebrations began in earnest as Vincent Kompany lifted the trophy to spark scenes of celebration, but Souness believes the chasing pack will be better equipped to mount a title challenge next term.
"Now is the time to strengthen," said Souness, pitchside at the Etihad. "No doubt they will strengthen. They're a good bit in front and points will suggest that.
"You put another marker down saying you're not happy. I can remember Bob Paisley was never happy. We'd just won the European Cup and the league [at Liverpool], but he was never happy.
"He would always go out and look to replace someone who was the wrong side of 30 or so players he thought weren't good enough. This is the time to do it. Invest now when you're at the top."
City's third Premier League title in seven seasons was confirmed last month after West Brom's win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
While their wait for the Premier League record of 31 wins in a single season will have to wait, following Huddersfield's rearguard action, there were very few grumbles from the home fans at the full-time whistle.
"They're living the dream, the supporters," Souness added. "City were a bit of a yo-yo club for a long time, and they changed their owners on a regular basis but now they're on such a strong footing that it's catch-up time for all the other big clubs.
"Some of these supporters will have seen the bad times and they will not believe what they're seeing."
The draw extends City's lead at the top to 17 points, following United's surprise defeat by Brighton on Friday night, and Guardiola will still have records in his sights in the final two games of the season.
The Seagulls visit the Etihad on Wednesday before City travel to Southampton on the final day of the campaign, and Souness has been impressed by how Guardiola has transformed the squad since his arrival in the summer of 2016.
"If you go back to his first year, it didn't quite go to plan for Pep," he said. "The second year, it's happened big time. They showed a togetherness through the difficult times and they did enough to win those games at places which isn't glamorous for some of these players.
"This is a real team, and they've set the benchmark for every other team who thinks they can win it. They're the team to catch, and you can only see them strengthening again this summer."
