Manchester City defender Micah Richards admits their season will be a failure if they do not finish in the top four.
Richards scored in City's 1-1 draw at Stoke City on Saturday.
He said: "It was disappointing my goal wasn't the winner,' he said. 'It was freezing out there, and people thought we wouldn't fancy it, but we were up for it and defended really well. But having done so well for 90 minutes, it's devastating to then concede in added time. I suppose it was a fair result in the end, but this is probably the sort of place we need to win at, if we're serious about winning the title.
"They are a very strong side, and they give you a real test, but having got ourselves into a winning position, we should have finished the job off.
"Top four is our aim, and we're still on course. Fourth place is the minimum we want, and anything above that will be a bonus. We know we can compete with the big boys, but we also know we can't let points slip away, when they're so close at hand."
