Kevin De Bruyne relishing prospect of small break as Manchester City prepare for business end of the season

After their return from Turf Moor, Manchester City’s players were given four days off and will reconvene on Thursday to prepare for the home game against Leicester

The Belgian didn't take much issue with Ciy's 1-1 draw Burnley on Saturday (Getty)

When Kevin De Bruyne was asked his plans after Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Burnley he replied: “I am going away and it doesn’t matter where.”

After their return from Turf Moor, Manchester City’s players were given four days off and will reconvene on Thursday to prepare for the home game against Leicester. It may be the last significant break they have before the end of the season.

The return of the Champions League is imminent and across Europe it is almost the only competition still open. Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain have already won their own leagues with as much conviction as Manchester City. Only Serie A of the major European leagues has still to decide its winner. More significantly, all those clubs bar Manchester City will have enjoyed the benefits of a winter break.

Pep Guardiola’s triumph in taking Manchester City to an unassailable Premier League position before the turn of the year may not give him an advantage in Europe. For De Bruyne and the rest of his squad, these four days will represent the meagre English version of a winter break.

By not filling the City bench, Guardiola was making a point that however wealthy his club and however much they have spent, resources are now looking thin. There are not many squads that could easily absorb the loss of David Silva, John Stones, Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus.

Perhaps they ought to have paid Leicester’s eye-watering asking price for Riyad Mahrez and accepted the criticism that there is no point to their academy if they are prepared to pay £90-odd million to cover for injuries.

However, Guardiola, Vincent Kompany and De Bruyne himself argued that the level of Manchester City’s play had not dipped. “Sometimes, we play shit, we win 1-0 and you say how good Manchester City is,” remarked Guardiola. “But today I didn’t have the feeling that things were not good, that the players were not working.” Burnley, on course for their best top-flight finish since 1974, have now taken points off each of the Premier League’s top five.

“We should have won the game, it’s just the way it is but nobody is complaining about the way we played,” said De Bruyne, reflecting on the combination of Raheem Sterling’s miss from two yards and Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s equaliser that cut City’s lead to a still-distant 13 points.

Kevin De Bruyne in action at Turf Moor (Getty)

“It is very hard now and we haven’t got any players left so maybe we do feel a little bit of tiredness which makes it a little bit more difficult but I thought the way we played was exceptional.

“I have said it before about playing in England. You feel great for 10 games, then you feel okay for 10 games and then for the rest you feel like shit. You know we have got to do what we have got to do. We only have 15 or 16 players available at the moment so we need to get through it.”