Pep Guardiola claimed Manchester City were well below average in beating West Ham 4-1, while Kevin De Bruyne pointedly called for the unwavering support of the club's fans.
Erling Haaland scored twice and Savinho stole the show as the defending champions moved to within two points of the top four with back-to-back wins for the first time since October.
But Guardiola was not satisfied and insisted there is a long road back before reaching the levels of performance his team is famous for.
“We have seen our level for many years and we are not at our level,” Guardiola said. 'We won, I'm very happy and that helps us.
'But (the public) judges us by the results: our performance was not good. When we play well, we know we play well.
'You can't ask me if the old Man City is back. If you saw the game we didn't. You've seen many times over the years what we've done with these opponents.
Pep Guardiola claimed that Manchester City were well below par against West Ham despite winning 4-1
City have been in poor form in recent months and Guardiola criticized their performance on Saturday afternoon.
Kevin De Bruyne, for his part, asked for the unwavering support of the club's fans
'We are not at the level, come on. It's not that when we lose it's a disaster and if we win it's an incredible performance.
'Against Everton (draw) we played much better than today. And when we draw it is a great crisis, a disaster. No. If you ask me that the team is playing like it has for years, no, absolutely not.
Guardiola added: “We don't pass the ball. That's why we suffer. We lose the ball too easily. We need to find our rhythm. We can't run with the ball, we have to pass. Everyone wants to be fast, they want to win 4-0 in 20 minutes. No. Take your time. Relax.'
The Etihad Stadium went into a tizzy when Niclas Fullkrug scored with 19 minutes remaining, and West Ham were guilty of wasting chances afterwards.
De Bruyne, who kept the captain's armband even after club captain Kyle Walker came off the bench, seemed disappointed by the atmosphere.
“I don't know why,” he said when asked about the nervousness. 'I can understand that we are not up to par, but you should support us because the effort is there and we are still winning 4-1.
'I don't understand what's happening. The team gave their maximum effort. The level has to be higher but we understand it.
'We understand a little more what we have done in the last 10 years and how difficult it is. At the moment we are a little below that.”