Vincent Kompany has conceded that the Premier League title is beyond Manchester City this season.
With nine matches left to contest, champions City are 15 points behind leaders and rivals Manchester United.
Despite having made the admission, captain Kompany has insisted that his teammates will "learn" from this campaign to ensure that they are "stronger" next time around.
"You always want to go for the titles and you always want to go for the top," Kompany told Sky Sports News. "I've experienced it in the same way as every other player. I've wanted our team to do well.
"We still have a good run in the FA Cup, but ultimately in football you have to have a winner and a loser, so I think we will learn from what happened there and we'll grow stronger again."
Meanwhile, the Belgian centre-back also confirmed that he has recovered from a calf injury that had kept him out since late January.
Liam Apicella
