Enzo Maresca has issued a measured defence of his Manchester City tenure, insisting the club is "going in the right direction" despite a recent dip in results.
The Italian, appointed exactly four months ago following Pep Guardiola's departure, has had to navigate a significant transition at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola left behind a remarkable legacy after a decade in charge, winning 20 major trophies including six Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the Treble in 2023 — the first English club to achieve that feat since Manchester United in 1999.
Maresca, who was Guardiola's assistant during that Treble-winning campaign, has received heavy backing from Hugo Viana and the club's hierarchy in the transfer market.
But the 46-year-old knows the scale of the task. City opened the season with an eight-game winning streak before a defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, and while back-to-back wins followed, a more recent descent has set in.
Last weekend's away defeat to Aston Villa was the latest setback, with Marc Guehi and Gianluigi Donnarumma both enduring games to forget after costly mistakes.
There was some relief in midweek as City beat Brighton on penalties in the Carabao Cup, though the Seagulls looked the better side and should have taken something from the game.
Maresca remains philosophical about the challenges of overhauling a squad and coaching staff in a single summer.
"We're going in the right direction," he said. "After so many years, to change the manager, many players, it always takes time to compete again."
"I think, at the moment, we are competing, and we changed many players and changed manager. But the good thing about the club is that I think we are competing in all competitions, and we know that it takes time, but at this moment we continue in the same way."
The early-season fixture list has been unforgiving, with huge tests against United, Liverpool and PSG already behind them. Even in the defeat to Luis Enrique's side, there were positives to take from a much-improved second-half display.
Donnarumma was dropped for the Carabao Cup win over Brighton but is likely to return to the starting XI this weekend as part of several changes across the pitch. Five players, including Erling Haaland and Elliot Anderson, were granted three days' holiday to ensure they go into the weekend fully fit.
Maresca will hope his side can retain top spot in the Premier League table — a position that would suggest the transition is progressing rather better than the recent run implies.