Maybe I'm getting carried away, maybe optimism has overtaken realism, maybe I'm still drunk. But the way my  Manchester City played yesterday has left me convinced that with the right sort of player investment in the summer we can take a shot at the title next season.

Sure, Manchester United fans will laugh, and the other clubs from the so called ‘elite’ will chuckle, but I'm deadly serious. Right now we have a group of players that includes around half a dozen truly top quality players, and if we spend well and add to that nucleus I see no reason we can’t make a run on the rails and give the title a good shot next season.

Right now we sit in seventh place, only a win or so from the Champions League spot that many sides are fighting for. But I'm looking for more. The difference in character and desire shown by our side compared to recent years is astounding. Sven Goran Eriksson has proved that club management is far more his cup of tea and he could well become our Wenger.

'Right now we sit in seventh place, only a win or so from the Champions League spot that many sides are fighting for. But I'm looking for more'

Now that Micah Richards has put pen to paper on a long term contract, it shows that we are not a selling club, and that the ambitions of the players can be met at the Eastlands rather than opting for a move elsewhere. Against Arsenal we looked distinctly average and deserved our defeat, but that was a performance out of character. We looked scared coming up against the champions elect. We looked like boys, but yesterday we looked like men.

It was good to see Fergie's No. 2 claim that international duties were the reason his side underperformed. I have to admit I smiled when I read that. Couldn’t he just admit the better side won? I also find it baffling when coaches and managers make a complaint and then follow up the statement with words to the contrary.

Here is the couplet that Carlos Queiroz came out with. He starts with: "We believe the team was affected by international call-ups” and then follows this statement with "But talking about that would be an excuse." Which is an exercise in contradiction to say the least. Why can’t so-called big teams just hold up their hands and admit they were outfought?