Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted that he has failed to live up to his own expectations during his debut season in English football.
City set the early pace in the Premier League as Guardiola won his opening six games of the season, but they have since tailed off and Wednesday's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Chelsea left them 14 points adrift of the league leaders.
The Citizens must now focus on qualifying for the Champions League, and Guardiola believes that his side have shown signs of progress throughout the campaign despite it being a 'disappointing' season overall.
"My feeling is during the season we made really good things. I was expecting from the beginning of the season to fight for the Premier League until the end. Okay we are a little bit disappointed, but I quite happy with the way we made good things in this season," he told reporters.
"Of course we are not stable in other things. We want to improve for this part of the season and especially for next season.
"Now the situation is clear. Eight games left in the league to qualify for the first four and the semi-final of the FA Cup and that is our target for the end of the season. We'll try to win as many as possible."
Man City will host Hull City on Saturday looking to end a four-match winless streak in all competitions.
Barney Corkhill
