My quality time with Guardiola - and getting his guide to Barcelona

One person I've deliberately left out of the above list of managers I've enjoyed getting to know over the years is Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. I want to talk about Pep separately, because of the rumours that this could be his last season in English football. My first encounter with him was when I was with West Brom. It was early in Pep's first Premier League campaign, 2016-17, and Manchester City had just beaten us at home. After the game I made sure my assistant Dave Kemp would get City's staff in for our customary drink. I didn't join him in my room until after I had finished my post-match press conference, but there he was at the table with a glass of wine and chatting to all my staff. As people will tell you, I forced him to eat with us too, while we discussed his early impressions of the Premier League and English football in general. Having Kempy and Gerry Francis there meant the conversation never moved from Pep's own journey, and the fact he had managed one of the greatest club sides ever when he was in charge of Barcelona with Lionel Messi in his team. He was very humble and proclaimed he could not fail to succeed with - I believe he said - six world-class players in his team, and a genius in Messi who could change games in seconds. The entire time he was in the room, he never once brushed over any detail asked of him and he impressed everyone who was there that day - even the caterers commented on how warm and engaging he was to them. …