Pep Guardiola has introduced a new set of fines in a bid to keep his Manchester City players on their toes, Goal understands.
Guardiola has been ramming home the dangers of complacency during team meetings since the start of the season.
While coach at Barcelona and Bayern Munich he suffered some shock results in the first weeks of his respective clubs’ title defences, including a 2-0 Camp Nou defeat to Hercules in 2010 and two draws from four games in 2011. At Bayern in 2014 his champions failed to win two of their first four matches.
City have won three and drawn one of their first four games of the campaign and Guardiola, who has ruled out another 100-point season, has charged his side with being more consistent.
He also wants them to be more resilient in the face of set-backs in big matches, such as the high-profile defeats to Liverpool and Manchester United in April.
As part of his drive to focus minds, Guardiola has taken steps to improve behaviour around the training ground.
The Catalan has banned the use of mobile phones in analysis sessions and team meetings at the club’s City Football Academy, although players are allowed to use their phones inside the dressing room.
Left-back Benjamin Mendy has vowed not to use his phone in the dressing room, however, after Guardiola warned him publicly to spend less time on social media and focus more on his football.
Mendy was also fined for turning up late to training ahead of the start of the season, another example of the sanctions handed out to the City squad.
Previous fines at City had been charged as a percentage of a player's salary, but are now pre-arranged, flat fees and do not differ depending on a player’s earnings or stature in the squad.
Guardiola’s desire to keep his squad in line also played a role in Leroy Sane being dropped from the City side to face Newcastle on Saturday.
Sources have told Goal that the Germany winger’s focus has been questioned by Guardiola and his coaching staff in recent weeks, although the City boss had publicly stated that he has no problems in that area.
Guardiola is no stranger to handing out sanctions, having started in his first season as a coach back in 2008.
