THERE were a few cynical asides when Pep Guardiola was appointed manager of Manchester City. There were even those who hoped he would fall flat on his face and those who claimed he was "not all there". The coach has, within a few short weeks, changed the league for the betterWould a manager who has dominated in Spain and Germany, and with the two strongest clubs in those countries, cut it in the physically intense, competitive chaos of the English Premier League?It is early days but already there are answers. City may not win the league this season and they may not emulate the Champions League semifinal of the last campaign. He may ultimately fail. But Guardiola has made his mark. He has made a difference. There is no revolution, just a raising of standards.The 45-year-old Spaniard has, within a few weeks, changed the league and done so for the better.He has made his rivals think and react. Everyone is on their toes and knows they have to lift their game.Guardiola has made his mark .In the past few days, new England manager Sam Allardyce has remarked on Guardiola's tactics."If I can get the chance to go and see Pep I'd like to listen to him," Allardyce said. "I like the two full-backs coming in, the next generation are going to copy that."The point is Guardiola has done something different, made everyone at least think about it, and felt he needed to do so with a squad that had to change. Not just in personnel - and only two of his expensive new signings, Nolito and John Stones, have actually featured so far - but, more importantly, in approach. Changing tactics, even a tweak, has made his players think.Guardiola is interested to the point of obsession in conditioning and, above all, the effects diet has - which provides a psychological as well as a physical result.Players such as Samir Nasri and Yaya Toure are banished from training or the match-day squad because they are deemed overweight. In fact, City players are weighed almost on a daily basis. If their weight is higher than it is deemed it should be, then they do not train. Period.The players eat breakfast, lunch and, after matches, dinner together. They have to sign in and out of the club's canteen for those meals to prove they have done so with Guardiola regarding nutritionists as vital members of his staff.Out have gone post-match pizzas and chicken goujons and in has come salmon and prawn salads.With the Olympics having over-lapped with the start of the Premier League season, there has been a simple conclusion by City's staff: Guardiola wants his players to live their lives like Olympic athletes.A regime has been set. First with the tactics, then with the treatment of individual players, and thirdly with the obsession over diet and conditioning. Failure to be fit or fit in and you are out.There is no mystery to this. No revolution. Guardiola's teams tend to be the hardest-working and fittest in the leagues they play in.José Mourinho - now at Manchester United, who he is transforming into robust title contenders - had a similar effect on the Premier League a dozen years ago. He got people thinking, changed the outlook. Guardiola is doing that now and the league will improve because of it.© The Daily Telegraph..