Nico O'Reilly said manager Pep Guardiola played a role in helping him successfully turn to the city's left-back role - and still coached him in the training field.

O'Reilly is a midfielder, but Guardiola now turns him into a defender.

He was rarely used at the start of the season, making his senior debut at United on the Community Shield before making his further appearances at Watford home court and at Tottenham Hotspur’s League Cup and winning a Champions League defeat in Etihad.

The 20-year-old then took the opportunity to shine in the backline, scoring in the FA Cup defeat of Salford, and he never looked back since.

He was outstanding in this game - defeating Plymouth in the fifth round of the comeback and scoring two crucial goals in the quarter-final Bournemouth scored 2-1.

The adorable little star also scored Atihad in April after his first Premier League goal to beat Crystal Palace 5-2 before scoring another goal in Everton's 2-0 long-distance win.

He was very excited about how far he had gone and insisted that the boss continues to coach him to train to make him better in the left-back role.

"I only remember one meeting when I was put there because I thought we had only one central defender training," he said.

“Everyone is injured, we just need the players who are training to go there.

“It must be the Salford game two days later, I’m left back, it just comes from there. I believe the manager’s idea.

“If I have problems with positioning training, Pep will stop it, browse it with me and let me know what I need to do.

"It helped me a lot. Also talking to people like Josko, who played there all season, he helped me a lot because he was next to me every game and always talked to me.

“I think the staff, Josco and Ruben have helped as well. Ruben is a big leader in the team and he leads the backline, so I’ve been listening to him.

“I also have to get used to defending one side, because being in the back line is not something I’m used to.

“As it evolved, I learned a lot and a lot to learn.

“I like it very much and it has some versatility.

“Obviously, my size and body swing up and down, which really suits me.

“I think the way we play tactically has benefited me a lot in this way to get into these positions.”

This weekend, when we face Southampton at St. Mary on Saturday, he hopes to add his 17 games to his 17 games.

Manchester City hits the gears in our Champions League qualification chase while the Saints have had a tough sport as they return to the next semester to return to the championship.

Nevertheless, O'Reilly insists that City will show them the respect they deserve in the 15:00 (UK) kickoff.

"Even if they've been relegated and become the lowest point in the league, it's a tough game," he said.

“They are still in the Premier League. It’s easy to have no matches in the Premier League, we know what will happen.

“We won’t underestimate them in any way, we will do our best.

"I remember the home game. The way they played, I didn't expect it. We knew it would be a tough game, so we need to prepare for it."