Exeter City midfielder Ed Francis tells Sky Sports about growing up at Man City, training under Pep Guardiola and his heartache in non-league.
Even for a lad who grew up at Manchester City, it was always an exciting moment when Pep Guardiola turned up. 'I remember the first time he came in when we were sat in the meeting room, and I was just absolutely gobsmacked,' Ed Francis recalls. 'He was just stood there and it was really surreal. 'He was just intense and a really good coach. I didn't get to work that closely with him one-on-one, but I could just see the level of detail he would go into.
'I went on loan when I was 18, which might have been a bit young,' he says. 'But I was still quite switched on and I knew how hard it would be to break into the first team. My mentality was that I was good enough to go out and play. 'Everybody has a different journey, and that's probably what I've realised in the past couple of years. I like the quote: 'Comparison is the thief of joy'.
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