Manchester City boss Sven Goran Eriksson admits he's been surprised at how quickly things have come together at Eastlands.

"If you had told me before the start of the season that we would have played nine games and been third in the table then I certainly would have taken it," he told the Manchester Evening News.

"It is perhaps a little bit surprising even to me, the team, the fans and all the football experts but now we just want to carry on in the same manner and not start talking about targets.

"We want to make sure we carry on playing the kind of football we have been doing lately. Momentum is a great thing.

"I was personally afraid of the match that we played on Sunday against Middlesbrough because I thought it was one of those occasions when, after Newcastle, everyone was speaking about us and expecting us to win," he added.

"But I thought we did very well and I congratulated the boys because they were up to the expectations."

It wasn't just the wonder goals from Elano or the flowing movement that pleased Eriksson most but rather the bits of the game that go unnoticed or unheralded.

"Football is not just about when you have the ball it is about keeping your shape and discipline when you do not have it and being aggressive in trying to win it back we have been good at all those things too," he concluded.

"Those things are easy to forget when you are playing well and winning but the players did those things well at the weekend and have done all season."