By Steven Morrison Last updated: 24th September 2007
Dunne: Eyes fifth place
Manchester City captain Richard Dunne admits the club are not yet ready to challenge for the top four in the Premier League.
The defender said 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."
"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 manager at City, investment in fresh faces during the January transfer window is expected, and Dunne says the team will re-assess their aspirations after that.
"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."
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Thursday 17th July | |
| UEFA Cup Qualifying | |
| 19:45 | EB Streymur vs Man City |
| Saturday 26th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 16:00 | Hamburg vs Man City |
| Thursday 31st July | |
| UEFA Cup Qualifying | |
| 19:45 | Man City vs EB Streymur |
| Saturday 2nd August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 15:00 | Stockport vs Man City |
| Saturday 9th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 17:15 | Man City vs AC Milan |
| Saturday 16th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Man City |
| Saturday 23rd August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Man City vs West Ham |
| Saturday 30th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Sunderland vs Man City |
| Saturday 13th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Man City vs Chelsea |
| Saturday 20th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Man City vs Portsmouth |
| Saturday 27th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Man City |
| Saturday 4th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Man City vs Liverpool |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Sunday 11th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 8 - 1 Man City | |
| Sunday 4th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 1 - 0 Man City | |
| Saturday 26th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 2 - 3 Fulham | |
| Sunday 20th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 3 - 1 Portsmouth | |
| Saturday 12th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 1 - 2 Man City | |
| Saturday 5th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 0 - 2 Chelsea | |
| Saturday 29th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 3 - 1 Man City | |
| Saturday 22nd March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Bolton 0 - 0 Man City | |
| Sunday 16th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 2 - 1 Tottenham | |
| Saturday 8th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Reading 2 - 0 Man City | |
| Saturday 1st March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 0 - 0 Wigan | |
| Monday 25th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 0 - 2 Everton | |
| Sunday 10th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 1 - 2 Man City | |
| Saturday 2nd February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 1 - 3 Arsenal | |
| Wednesday 30th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Derby 1 - 1 Man City | |
| Sunday 27th January | |
| The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON | |
| Sheff Utd 2 - 1 Man City | |
| Sunday 20th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 1 - 1 West Ham | |
| Wednesday 16th January | |
| The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON | |
| Man City 1 - 0 West Ham | |
| Saturday 12th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Everton 1 - 0 Man City | |
| Saturday 5th January | |
| The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON | |
| West Ham 0 - 0 Man City | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Hull City | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Liverpool | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Manchester City | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Manchester United | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Middlesbrough | 0 | 0 |
Man City chief Garry Cook believes Mark Hughes will rid the Blues of their laughing-stock image.
Brazil boss Dunga expects Ronaldinho to join Milan this summer as that is his preferred destination.
Fulham are leading the race to land Rosenborg full-back Fredrik Stoor, according to the player's agent.
Christopher Samba's agent expects the defender to remain at Blackburn Rovers next season.
Adriano Galliani claims Ronaldinho has rejected a move to Man City, and says it is 'useless' to meet Arsene Wenger.