Manchester City defender Kolo Toure says they know everyone is waiting for them to fail.
Earlier in the season, Mario Balotelli was involved in a training-ground fracas with City team-mate Jerome Boateng, while Emmanuel Adebayor and Vincent Kompany had an on-field row during the defeat by Wolves.
Toure, though, insists City are united in their ambitions.
"It is normal that everybody will criticise our team because we have so many big players now and the chairman has put in a lot of money," said the centre-back after victory at West Ham United.
"Everybody's expecting City to be one of the best teams in this league and I think we need to agree on that.
"The only thing we need to do is just get the points and try to be one of the best teams in this Premier League."
Toure, who captained the side yesterday, added: "When you feel the pressure you can offer your best.
"I think you can see that at the moment - everybody's waiting for our mistake and that gives us more strength because we don't want to be criticised by the newspapers or other teams."
