Giggs: City need to win more titles to rank among greatest Premier League sides

Giggs: City need to win more titles to rank among greatest Premier League sides

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have been told by Ryan Giggs they need to win multiple titles before they can be considered the greatest Premier League side ever.

City now need just six more top-flight victories from their final 11 fixtures to guarantee they will be crowned champions having blitzed their rivals by dropping only nine points so far.

That form, coupled with the aesthetically-pleasing style Guardiola’s side have produced, has led to suggestions his team could be thought of as the best in Premier League history.

Yet former Manchester United winger Giggs, the division’s most decorated player, insists City have to back up their “wonder season” with further titles if they want recognition alongside United’s 1999 treble-winning squad, Arsenal’s Invincibles and Jose Mourinho’s first Chelsea side.

Speaking in Monaco in his role as an ambassador for Laureus, Giggs said: “At the moment they’re up there because of the performances and the results that they’ve shown this year.

“I think to compare them to ourselves, Arsenal, Chelsea, you have to win multiple titles, you have to be consistent, not just one wonder season, which they are having.

“But the way that they play this year, they’re capable of doing that. It’s up to the other clubs, the likes of United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham to do better next year and to challenge and see how they handle that.

“I think everyone recognises the football that they’re playing this year is high up there with some of the best we’ve seen in the Premier League era.”

Though this season’s title has looked like a foregone conclusion for some time, Wales manager Giggs acknowledged that the mindset alters once you become the reigning champions.

“It is difficult,” added the 13-time Premier League winner. “We felt that at United there is that little bit of difference when you’re coming up against teams that they want to beat the champions.

“That pressure, it builds.  Also for the players, you’ve got to ask the players to climb that mountain again, and some can do it, some can’t. It’s a real test.”

Giggs’ old club United reclaimed second spot in the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea on Sunday.

Mourinho’s side remain in the Champions League and FA Cup and Giggs believes it is still possible for United to better last year’s campaign, when they won both the League Cup and Europa League but finished sixth in the domestic standings.

“They’re looking good,” Giggs said.

“If they secure top four, if they have a good run in the Champions League and win the FA Cup, it’s a step forward again from last year.

“I think everyone recognises how difficult it is with City performing so well this year. I think you’ve got to do as well as (you can) this year, try and win a trophy, get in the Champions League and then build from that going on to next year.

“Obviously every United fan will be hoping that we challenge for the league a little better than we did this year.”

– The Laureus World Sports Awards highlight sporting excellence and recognise those who use sport to change lives for the better. For more information, head to www.laureus.com/awards

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