Terry Phelan: Nothing but EPL title will suffice for City

Former City defender Terry Phelan

Manchester City are on the cusp of becoming only the second team after Manchester United to win back-to-back Premier League titles and former Sky Blues's defender Terry Phelan reckons Pep Guardiola's team will be among the greats in English football if they finish on top of the table on the final day of the season this weekend.

City host Leicester City at the Etihad Stadium tonight and then they play Brighton & Hove Albion away on the final day of the season on Sunday.

Liverpool returned to the top of the EPL table with a thrilling 3-2 win away to Newcastle on Saturday. The Reds (94) now lead second-placed City (92) by two points, making City's fixture against the Foxes a must-win clash.

Phelan felt nothing but the EPL trophy will suffice for City. "All the statistics and records won't matter if they don't lift the EPL trophy this season. To be called the best, they have to win trophies year in and year out. This is a big year for them. They have already won the League Cup. Now, they have to seal the EPL and if they win the FA Cup [against Watford on May 18] they will win a treble and dominate English football," said Phelan, 52, who is an expert panelist for the Champions League on Sony Pictures Networks.

"Guardiola has been hired by the club to win trophies. And the manager as well as the players know that at the end of the season it's the silverware that counts more over records," added Phelan, who made 104 appearances in his three-season spell at City, scoring twice.

Though City have been a dominant force at the domestic level, Phelan reckons they need to do more in Europe. "Reaching the quarter-finals [like this season] and semi-finals is not good enough. If you want to be counted among the likes of Real Madrid or Barcelona, you have to win the Champions League," Phelan concluded.

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