Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has said that Citizens boss Pep Guardiola 'deserves more credit' for the work he has done since arriving at the Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2016.
City finished third in the Premier League last season - some 15 points off eventual champions Chelsea.
Guardiola's side lead the way after 28 matches of the 2017-18 campaign, however, and they hold a 16-point advantage over second-placed Manchester United as things stand.
Kompany has said that Guardiola's work last season laid the foundations for the team's success this term.
"There's no doubt in my mind that Pep deserves more than he's even attributed to at the moment for how we've developed as a team. It's entirely his vision, entirely his work and we have the responsibility to bring it across on the pitch which is obviously not nothing," Kompany told reporters.
"There's a lot of leadership that's helped us to get this far. Last season is something that I will always argue about because I don't think we had a bad season. A lot of what we've done this season has been developed out of what we did last season."
City landed the EFL Cup trophy last weekend with a 3-0 win over Arsenal.
