The Manchester United centre-back insists his side are not threatened by the imminent arrival of the Champions League winning coach at their archrivals
Chris Smalling says Manchester United do not care about Pep Guardiola's impending arrival at Manchester City, insisting it is normal for both clubs to have top quality managers.
The Spanish coach, who has won two Champions League crowns and five top flight league titles across spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, will replace Manuel Pellegrini at the Etihad Stadium after the end of the current campaign.
United and Chelsea were also said to be interested in luring Guardiola away from Bayern, but Smalling insists his side are not interested in the former midfielder taking over at their archrivals.
"We don't really care in terms of whoever is managing City, or which players are coming a going," Smalling said.
"It's not a case of it affecting us. City are always going to have a top manager, as are we.
"It's good to see the best players and coaches who want to work in England."
The Old Trafford side have come under immense criticism this season for their uninspiring performances, leading to speculation that manager Louis van Gaal could be sacked.
But the Red Devils form has picked up in recent weeks, as they have lost just one of their last eight games in all competitions, and the defender admits the season has been rather tumultuous.
"It's been a season of ups and downs," he added. "If it finished now, we wouldn't be satisfied, it is has been a roller-coaster for a lot of teams. But there is a long way to go and it's about finding that consistency.
"The manager has his way of working, his philosophy. What people don't see is the communication amongst the players. We have meetings about how we will press a team, how we are going to play and he is willing to listen to us players.
"In those terms, our working relationship is definitely improving."
- Goal