Grealish has featured on five occasions so far across the Premier League, Champions League and Community Shield with an ankle injury keeping him out of a further three games.
The England international is yet to score this season, but the manager insists that he brings much more to the side than just goals and assists.
“We didn’t sign him for goals and assists at Aston Villa - there were other reasons,” said the boss in his press conference on Friday ahead of Saturday’s trip to Wolves.
“He is a nice guy, and when he doesn’t play he is the first to help the team. I am delighted about his behaviour and everything. I want him to score goals and get assists, and he does too.
“But it’s not about that, it’s how he contributes without the ball and if he produces for the other ones, many things he is able to do.
“He started really well and then had to stop because of problems in the ankle and we were lucky it was not worse.
“In the last game in the final third, he was the only one making an aggressive one v one. But the moment to make assists, his mates weren’t in the box, we left him isolated.
“I know him and I am more than happy and delighted with what he is doing. It’s now just a question of time for him to get back the momentum he had at the start of the season.”
Guardiola also encouraged Grealish to ignore comments from outside the Club and continue to focus on fulfilling the role set out for him by his coaches and team-mates.
He said: “He understands us and we understand him. Just to have the continuity that I tried to give him, because he deserves it, is to be yourself, don’t be what people expect you to be - be yourself as a person and a player, and that is the only concern.
“Try to get better than yesterday and tomorrow be better than today. That’s all. I don’t want to ask them to do something they can’t do.”
