Georgia Stanway has hailed Gareth Taylor for the positive impact he has had on her development.

The midfielder admits the Manchester City boss expects his team to work to the highest of standards but believes his management style was exactly what she needed to keep moving forward in her career.

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Taylor guided City to glory in the delayed 2020 FA Cup final in his first season in charge, with Stanway scoring 11 goals in 37 appearances and, with the 22-year-old having previously spent the entirety of her club career under the tutelage of Nick Cushing, she feels she has benefited from a new approach.

“It’s exciting,” she told mancity.com. “It’s very different to what I’ve previously worked with.

“I’ve only ever really known Nick [Cushing] and Phil Neville fell within the England set-up. I’ve only known those two as coaches in my adult career.

“It’s good to get a different perspective – just how things are dealt with differently and Gaz is more of a stern coach.

“If it’s not good enough, you know it’s not good enough and you’re getting told it’s not good enough.

“I needed that just to recognise myself that I’ve got to keep my standards high, always pushing on and pushing my teammates as well.”

Whilst City enjoyed success in the FA Cup, Taylor’s side endured a frustrating end to the campaign, finishing just two points behind eventual champions Chelsea.

A series of early season draws forced us to chase the Blues in a dramatic season finale and, when the two teams played out a 2-2 draw in our third to last game, City’s fate was no longer in our own hands and our opponents duly capitalised to claim the title.

It was a harsh lesson for Stanway, who hopes we can get off to a better start in 2021/22 and show more resilience in finely balanced games.

“The FA Cup was a trophy we wanted to regain,” she added.

“We want to do that again going into next season, but it was disappointing not to receive any other silverware.

“I think the Champions League is still possible and in our sights in the near future, as well as the league as well.

“It was unfortunate it came down to minimal points, but the points that you lose early doors are the points that you can’t afford to lose.

“We need to turn those draws into wins and make sure that we’re holding the game out to 90 minutes and still getting the results.”