Pep Guardiola has claimed that Manchester City's poor results in recent weeks are not a true reflection of his players' performances on the field.
The Citizens are in the midst of a six-game winless run in all competitions, compounded by defeat to rivals Manchester United in the EFL Cup last time out.
Guardiola is happy enough with what he has seen from his group over the past month, however, and claims that results will only improve should they continue performing in a similar manner.
"For the players, they don't deserve this," he told reporters. "We are in this period like it is but it will make us stronger in the future, I am sure about that.
"There are many things that have changed. I need time to learn, to improve. I'm still in that process. We have to learn as quickly as possible. We go game by game. We'll prepare for West Brom then on Sunday we'll talk about Barcelona."
Man City remain top of the Premier League table despite their slump in form, which marks Guardiola's worst-ever run in management.
