Jack Grealish isn't like most other footballers, especially when he faces the media.
This week's press conference on England duty saw Grealish jokingly challenge the reporters present about the criticism he receives, defend Gareth Southgate from any doubters in the England boss, call out Graeme Souness for 'having a problem' with him, and speak honestly about his form at Manchester City.
There were no standard footballer answers here, and if they were, they undoubtedly came from a place of truth as Grealish spoke freely about where he sits at this stage of his career. While the Souness comments and his defence of his summer holiday activities will obviously get the headlines, there was also plenty that Grealish revealed about his time at City, as the debate continues around how to get the best out of him.
ALSO READ: 'I don't know his problem' - Man City star Jack Grealish hits back at Graeme Souness comments
“Listen, if I am not playing well, I know within myself,” he said. “I always watch my games back and I am very critical of myself. I know that there were games, especially in the second half of last season, where I wasn’t at my best at all.
“Unfortunately for me, I came back fit for a strong pre-season but then got injured in the second game. I know what I’m like and how professional I actually am and hopefully I can just get my performances back to where I was when I’m playing at my best. I know how good I actually am when I’m at my best so hopefully I can get that back.”
Grealish also pointed to the fitness work he did over the summer while away, noting that some sections of the media overlooked that in favour of his partying on holiday.
“I feel like I was just doing what a lot of other footballers are doing, but sometimes I think I get more attention when I’m on holiday in Ibiza or Vegas or something," he said. “After that then I was putting up photos of me working. I don’t know if a lot of people spoke about that. I tried to come back as fit as possible and I felt like I did. I’ve seen the manager said that a few times about me."
Not for the first time, Grealish nodded towards Pep Guardiola as an opinion he obviously values more than any of the outside criticism, as well as wisely listening to his mum, of course. There was some interesting tactical talk of why he is perhaps less involved in attacking moves at City compared to Aston Villa, again noting that he is trying to follow Guardiola's plan as closely as possible.
Still, Grealish acknowledged that his goals and assists return could be improved, and vowed to work on that. This was a player who seems to know exactly how to find the right balance between adding Guardiola's more rigid tactical requirements to his natural free-attacking instincts.
He seems to have plenty of trust in Guardiola and knows the people he should listen to rather than Graeme Souness - even if he admits it's hard sometimes to block out all the noise. While pundits and commentators insist on trying to drive the narrative that Grealish will only justify his £100million fee if he plays as he did at Villa, Grealish seems to acknowledge that he is on the right path at City to become a more rounded forward with a better technical and tactical knowledge in Guardiola's system.
And to do that, it seems he's at his most driven when he's relaxed and being himself - just like he was at Villa, just like he was in the summer, and just like he has been since returning for pre-season. His relaxed media appearances after winning the Premier League title and at the start of the current campaign show a player who has settled at City, and the club cannot complain about his attitude this season. It seems he has finally started to pin down a specific role in the system with performances always improving.
For a player who relishes being kicked all over the park (but can equally shake hands with the opposition after full-time as he did with Wolves' Nathan Collins at the weekend), Grealish seems to want to simply get on with it. Maybe that's why Guardiola and Kevin De Bruyne launched passionate defences of him in the last week, to take the heat off Grealish himself.
It would benefit City if they can protect him from the criticism and allow him to just get on enjoying playing football and being a footballer. If that brings out the best in him, they won't have too many concerns over what he gets up to on holiday or says in a press conference.
READ NEXT:
