Pep Guardiola has admitted that fixtures in the next week against Middlesbrough, Monaco and Liverpool will define his first season in English football.
There is a possibility that City could be out of two competitions, should they lose away to both Boro and the French provincial side, and this would leave his dreams of instant domination at the Etihad in tatters.
The visit of Liverpool to the Citizens next Saturday could also prove pivotal, due to Wednesday's disappointing 0-0 draw with Stoke. Should the Reds prevent Guardiola's men from winning, they will extinguish any hopes of catching leaders Chelsea.
The Spanish manager is not foolish and is aware of the pressure on him in the next seven days:These three games will decide what's going to happen in the next two months, definitely,� Guardiola told a room of reporters on Friday, as perIndependent.
Given his previous success at both Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Guardiola knows that a trophyless campaign will render him a failure.
I give you my permission to analyse what is my success this season,� he said. I'm not the guy to say it was good or bad.
I know what my standard is in terms of the past and titles. I know what's on my shoulders and I have to handle that, but what I would like to see in my team is them playing better at the end of the season than at the beginning.
My period in Munich was judged as a disaster because we were not able to win the Champions League,� he added. But when I was at Munich, we won three leagues in a row, we won two cups, we arrived all the time in the semi-finals, but it was a disaster. So I have to handle that.
That's why I'm open and it's your job to analyse what I have done. What I can say is we are trying to play better.�
One thing is for certain, City will have to play a whole lot better than they did against Stoke to meet Guardiola's lofty ambitions.