Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola thinks it will not be prudent to think about another treble and says "it is a fantasy right now."

Last season was one of its kind for City as they retained the English Premier League, regained the FA Cup and won the biggest of them all — the Champions League — for the first time. As the new season began Pep had to face one question again and again. Will City do a treble this time also.

"I can’t answer that question, the treble is a fantasy right now. Because to win another treble after that, all of us can retire. Because it isn’t easy to win one, imagine winning it twice. So the biggest mistake is to think about that.

"The wise way to think is who is the next opponent and what is the next game, and to achieve my targets which is by April or May be in the competition. Be close to the top of the league, Champions League being there, FA Cup being there, this is the target of the season to do it step by step, enjoy the process and try to win the next game," the 52-year-old Spaniard said during an interview shared by Star Sports Network.

Manchester United were the first to do a treble in 1999 under Alex Ferguson and Pep says it means a lot to something unbelievable. "You know the treble, you don’t do it quite often. The second time in England's history, alongside our neighbours Manchester United. So, it means a lot, to prove to ourselves that we have done something unbelievable. So that is so nice."

In the new season, City have already won the Uefa Super Cup and the Fifa Club World Cup which meant they won five trophies in one calendar year. In the English Premier League though they are struggling a bit. They are placed fourth on the table with 40 points from 19 matches, but City, in the business end of the season, always raise their game by a few notches and show no signs of nerves at all. On Saturday they travel to Newcastle.

Pep says the toughest part of a coach's job is to bench a player who deserves to play in the first eleven. "To not allow a lot of players who deserve to play in the first team, it’s the toughest part of the job. If the player is not kind with his mate then it doesn’t matter, but there are players, they are really good human beings, and leaving them out of the selection is really hard."

Talking about the Manchester derby, Pep it's a special game for the city and the fans. "I like it (derbies) only when we win. I don’t like it when we lose against them. it’s a special game for the city and for the fans, and when you can beat them it’s really good."

For Newcastle injury problems continue to mount as midfielder Joelinton will be sidelined for at least six weeks with a quad injury. The 27-year-old Brazilian picked up the injury during their third-round visit to rivals Sunderland in the FA Cup.