Manchester City captain Richard Dunne admits the club are not yet ready to challenge for the top four in the Premier League.
The Republic of Ireland defender, 28, feels City are possibly 'the best of the rest', but insists they will need to improve if they are to become one of the big guns.
"At the moment, we are playing reasonably well and deserve to be among the leaders," he said in the Daily Express.
"Each week as it comes along, you have to make sure the same commitment and desire is there.
"There's no team that's going to grab that fifth place on their own. So far, we're probably the best of the rest and we've had the best start of anyone else."
City were involved in a six-goal thriller at the weekend, as they drew 3-3 at Fulham, but Dunne is adamant that they need to win those sort of games if they want to break into the top four.
"We take each game as it comes," he added.
"The manager said Fulham is a place you come to and win if you're going to be in the top four. We need to be winning more games away from home."
With a new owner and new manager at City, investment in fresh faces during January is expected, and Dunne says the team will re-assess their aspirations after that.
He added: "We just want to get as many points as we can and then if the manager strengthens the squad in January we can have another look and say we have got a squad to challenge for the top four, or definitely make sure we're in the shake-up for the UEFA Cup places."