Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini concedes his side have yet to hit their stride in the Uefa Champions League or the English Premier League race.
City lost to Bayern Munich and were held by Roma this week to have one point in the Champions League, and they go to Aston Villa on Saturday trailing leaders Chelsea by two places and five points.
Pellegrini is confident of closing that gap.
“We are just starting,” he said. “It is not good to be five points behind Chelsea, but in this moment we have one point more than last year. Arsenal was maybe six points ahead of us and we didn’t win the first three games away.
“Things can happen, important things, and we will try to continue playing the way we did against Hull. If we win, yes, I’m happy. The only game we lost was here against Stoke. It was not in our minds that we could lose that game, but that can happen in football.”
Pellegrini said criticism of Yaya Toure, the midfielder who has been below part this season, was unfounded.
“When we play well, it is because the most important players of the team play well, and when we play badly, it is because the whole team plays bad,” he said. “I don’t think we should single out one player because I don’t think this team depends on one player.”
Pellegrini was pleased with his side’s attacking performance in last week’s 4-2 win at Hull City, which was a first Premier League victory in four outings.
On Saturday, they play a Villa side who began the season well but have lost 3-0 to Arsenal and Chelsea in their past two games.
City were beaten 3-2 at Villa last season, at a time when they were struggling for away form. That matter has since been addressed, with the champions having lost just once in their past 15 away league matches.
“I’m very happy with that as it was one of the things we were criticised for last year,” Pellegrini said. “It is very important to try to play the same way we do at home.”
Pellegrini has Fernando, the midfielder who joined the side from Porto, available today, but not Samir Nasri.
For Villa, Libor Kozak has had complications with a broken leg and is expected to be missing long term, but forward Christian Benteke could return from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon.
Elsewhere, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes there is no need for English football to introduce American football's 'Rooney Rule', saying "there is no racism" in the game.
A law whereby at least one black or ethnic minority candidate must be interviewed for every head coaching job has been in force in NFL since 2003 after it was pushed forward by Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney.
No such requirement exists in English football, and only two black managers are employed throughout the 92 Premier League and Football League clubs.
Asked about the issue on Friday at his pre-weekend news conference, Mourinho said: "There is no racism in football. Football is not so stupid to close doors to people.
“If you are good, you get the job. If you are top, you are top.”
Carlisle United boss Keith Curle and Huddersfield Town's Chris Powell are the only black managers in the English professional game, although around 25 percent of players are black or from ethnic minorities.
Hull City owner Assem Allam has warned he will stop "throwing money" at the club if he cannot force through his controversial "Tigers" rebrand.
Allam has been bankrolling Hull since saving the club from financial calamity in 2010 and has invested upwards of £70 million (Dh439.6m) in the team since then.
He said he believes the only route to sustainability lies in changing the official name from Hull City AFC to Hull Tigers, a move he thinks would lead to sizeable overseas investment.
The Football Association Council threw out his proposal in April, but Allam backed manager Steve Bruce's rebuilding plans this summer with more than £30m in transfer funds.
The 75-year-old Egyptian told the BBC that he will not engage in more spending unless he gets his way.
“It has to stop,” he said. “I won’t pay out if I cannot create income. I won’t throw money at a problem. I want to deal with the problem.”
Allam’s threat cannot have been welcomed by Bruce, who has played peacemaker in an increasingly bitter stand-off between the owner and sections of the fan base for more than a year.
That his words come on the eve of a home match today against Crystal Palace represents an unwelcome case of deja-vu.
It was the corresponding fixture last season when protests against the name change plan reached fever pitch, with supporter demonstrations proving an unwanted distraction as Hull slipped to their first home defeat.
The atmosphere at the KC Stadium has been on a knife edge at times this term, with chants of “City Till We Die” now booed by rival elements of the crowd.
What awaits in the stands today, when Bruce’s main priority is a first win since the opening day of the season, is anybody’s guess.
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