Pep Guardiola has confessed that he expected to be fighting for the Premier League title at this point in the season, but remains "optimistic" that Manchester City will only improve.
The Catalan coach arrived at the Etihad Stadium last summer amid much fanfare, starting his first campaign in English football with a 10-match winning run in all competitions.
City were unable to maintain their early-season form, however, and they have since slipped well out of the title picture and also exited all three cup competitions earlier than anticipated.
When asked to sum up 2016-17, Guardiola told reporters: "It was intense. It was funny. I have enjoyed it. But I expected to fight until the end and I was not able to do this, especially in the Premier League.
"In the Champions League, we were not ready to compete with the best teams in Europe. But I was expecting to compete until the end and in the last three, four or five games to be fighting for the Premier League.
"We were not able to do that. But I am optimistic in the last three games we will be able to qualify for the Champions League and I think we will be stronger next season."
City are currently fourth in the top flight, three points ahead of Arsenal in fifth heading into the final three games of the season.
Daniel Lewis
