Although our season has shown a vast improvement to that of last, there have still been a few causes for concern, which ultimately have scuppered our best chances to qualify for Europe this year.
The backdoor into the Europa League has not been slammed shut just yet, however, but the factors which could lead to a qualifying round berth grow against us as the weeks go by, it seems.
Yet while that may be the case, just being in a position where we can fight for the final spot should also be applauded, given how frequently we have lost key first-team players to injury.
That was also a view shared by Manuel Pellegrini, when the boss addressed the current fitness status of the first-team, and what he expected to achieve during his maiden campaign with us, in his pre-match press conference ahead of our trip to Manchester United.
When asked for an update on who will be available for selection at Old Trafford, the boss stated that we will only be without the long-term absentees. The Chilean also confirmed Samir Nasri felt his muscle in training and is working towards his return, while Winston Reid is still working back from his lengthy layoff.
Moreover, the club has hopes that Andriy Yarmolenko and Carlos Sanchez will be back with the first-team in the next few weeks, although that is purely in the sense of training with them.
The nearest crocked ace that has a chase of featuring anytime soon is Jack Wilshere, with our head coach noting: “Wilshere is almost ready. He played an U23s game last week, and he will play another one [first]. Hopefully next week he will be 100 per cent with us.”
His return could help to appease the growing proportion of the fanbase who have shown their discontent with his signing, given how much of the campaign he has missed.
Losing players through injury, and the amount who have fallen by the sides this term, is also something that Pellegrini took note of when addressing his and the club’s current views on progress and ambition.
“I always demand more from the players, from myself and from everyone,” he said. “If you ask if it’s a good season; nine games before the finish, we are not fighting against relegation, with an average of five or six players not available. From that point of view, it’s not a bad season.
“[Although] we must demand more. We must try to play every game with improvement and evolve. My target was to demand from everyone an ambitious mentality. We still have a mathematical chance for Europe, and we must try for that.
“The ambition is always to improve. You must demonstrate that in every game. This season, we have had some very good games, but also had some important losses also. We’ve analysed that, and next season our target must be to improve.”
