Pep Guardiola has confessed that he will need a full decade in charge if he is to make Manchester City as good as former sides Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
The Catalan coach went a whole season without winning any silverware last time out for the first time in his career, putting the pressure on to get things right in his second campaign at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola, who won numerous accolades during his time with Barca and Bayern, believes that he has improved his squad since taking charge 12 months ago but is still some way off the level he aspires to reach.
"I hope to have as much fun here as in the first season, because I enjoyed it," he told L'Esportiu. "There are people who say that it has not gone well, but it's the exception to what I've done so far – seven years of coaching and six leagues won.
"City is a great team, but getting to Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus... it's very complicated. You need time, a decade. We are trying to make the necessary changes to reinforce the team. It was one of the league's oldest, a team that had achieved many successes but had grown old.
"We have rejuvenated with Gabriel Jesus, Ilkay Gundogan and Leroy Sane. I always thought what would have happened if we'd had Vincent Kompany, Gabriel Jesus and Gundogan all year."
Guardiola has further overhauled his playing squad this summer by offloading five senior players, while bringing in Bernardo Silva and Ederson for a combined £77.5m.
Daniel Lewis
