Saturday 14 May 2016 08:39, UK
Stoke City forward Xherdan Shaqiri has warned Pep Guardiola that he will not find it easy when he takes over at Manchester City next season
Guardiola leaves his role as Bayern Munich head coach at the end of the campaign to replace Manuel Pellegrini at the Etihad Stadium.
The Catalan, 45, arrives in the north west with a glowing managerial reputation from his time spent in charge of his hometown club Barcelona and more recently Bayern.
Guardiola won three successive league titles at both the Nou Camp and the Allianz Arena - where he spent two years coaching Shaqiri - as well as the Champions League in 2009 and 2011 with Barca.
However, the Switzerland international has told his former boss he faces a tough examination of his managerial credentials in the City dugout next season.
"I think that on the pitch he is a very good coach and the players will be learning a lot off him," Shaqiri said in an exclusive interview with SSNHQ. "He has a very good staff who work very good."
"But on the other side Man City will expect to win everything and it will be difficult because next season will be a very tough season, the league is getting much better."
One major difference Guardiola will face next season in England, according to Shaqiri, is the high standard of all the teams in the Premier League, in contrast to the Bundesliga and La Liga.
"It is a different league to Germany and Spain because in Germany you only have two or three teams who are good, whereas in England now every team is tough to play," said the playmaker who spent three seasons in Bavaria between 2012 and 2015.
"And you can see that this season in that you can lose against every team, so next season will be a tougher season than this, so it will be difficult for every team."
The Swiss, though, has backed Guardiola to overcome these hurdles and be a success at City.
"But Man City of course have Guardiola and they will be strong and will try and win everything."
