LONDON -- Kyle Walker was desperate for another winners' medal, which is why he cut short his holiday to came back to training early for Manchester City.
The defender was back for preseason at the Etihad Campus just two weeks after playing a major part in England's run to the World Cup semifinals.
And he played 90 minutes as City secured their first silverware of the season on Sunday via the Community Shield victory over Chelsea, with the former Tottenham full-back admitting he's fearful of losing his place in a squad full of talent.
"This is a title, and I have not won many, so to not be a part of this would have been stupid for me to not want to come back," Walker told reporters. "The gaffer gave me the option, he said you can either come back on Monday after this, or you can come back and compete. There is no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be here.
"You have to [maintain your level] or you are sat on the bench next to him. It's as simple as that. His demands are so high, but it should be a pleasure to run around.
"In any football I have played in -- and I have played at League One and as an international at the World Cup -- the bare minimum is running around and showing the desire for the shirt. And then the higher you go up the leagues, your football kind of takes control of that."
Guardiola has warned his players that they need to keep up their quality and Walker believes they can get even better despite their incredible 100-point haul on their way to the title last season.
"What we achieved was incredible. My first year there was incredible. You couldn't write it. To achieve the 100 points, how we did it in the last game, but I feel that we have to demand and as experienced players, the bare minimum is last season," he added.
"We achieved big things but we can't stop there, we have to keep going, going and trying to improve, that's individually and collectively.
"When you are the top the only way is down, and we don't want to go down. There are a lot of good teams, and a lot of teams have strengthened their teams with very good players.
"I think we set the bar last year. We set it so high that we have to try to raise it. Everyone in that dressing room is not going to settle for anything less this year and we want to pick up more trophies.
"We're in more competitions and we compete in them to win them. I know the gaffer wants to win everything he possibly can and so do his players. We need to drive each other on. It's up to us to achieve them dreams."
City are still missing a number of key players from last season but started the Wembley victory with club-record signing Riyad Mahrez and highly-rated teenager Phil Foden.
Big things are expected of the midfield playmaker and while Walker thinks it's too early to talk about him playing for England, he believes Foden can have a big future if he continues to progress.
"Phil has trained with us all last year -- what a talent he is," he said. "He is a kid that wants to learn, which is rare these days, because you see a lot of the kids coming through, that have got a little bit of a chip on their shoulder. But it's full credit to him and probably his family as well for what he does, and he puts in the work as well. He wants to learn, so it is a pleasure to play with him.
"I think he needs to come through and be nurtured the right way. We have seen a lot of people being given the opportunity too early, and it kinds of swallows them up. So I think: lets just let him keep playing football."