Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has lauded his Cityzens'

Guardiola's Man City are on a stunning 21-game winning run. [Getty / Laurence Griffiths]

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has lauded his Cityzens' record of always finishing at the top end of the English top flight.

Pep Guardiola's City are in fine form and have sealed all possible three points in the league since their draw with West Brom on the 15th of December.

And, they lead the Premier League table by 15 points, with defending champions Liverpool - in seventh - 22 points behind.

However, Guardiola reserved praise for Man City, who are the only team since 2012 to finishing second the following year after lifting the Premier League title.

"Our fans demand that we fight for the title," Guardiola said ahead of the Manchester derby on Sunday as BBC Sport reported.

"Do you know the nicest thing the club has done in the last decade, every time we won the title, the next season we were there," said Guardiola, whose side have won their past 21 games in all competitions and are 15 points clear of second-placed Manchester United.

"The lowest position after winning was second. Manuel [Pellegrini] was there. You see the other champions, how they fight to qualify for the top four.

"We have the consistency of being there all the time. That is how you are respected. You can win one title but being there for a long time, what we have done in the last decade, is what I am proud of most."

Guardiola continued: "Being there in March and April, fighting for all the titles - this means you are considered a top club.

"People say what they think the reason is, as everybody knows, but there is a lot of work from many departments of the club. That is why we want to continue. Our bosses and the fans demand it."

The other sides who have won the title since the 2011-12 season are Manchester United, who finished seventh the year after, Chelsea whose title defences have ended in 10th and 5th spot - and Leicester, who finished 12th in the 2016–17 campaign. As for Liverpool, we have to wait to see if they'll fall short or not.

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