Vincent Kompany: We must bridge the gap between Man City and Europe's elite

VINCENT KOMPANY admits English clubs have to bridge a considerable gulf in class if they are to re-emerge as Champions League forces.

Reaction after Barcelona beat Manchester City

For all the hyperbole about the Premier League being the best in the world, England will have no representative in the quarter-finals of Europe's top club competition for the second time in three seasons.

After Manchester City joined Arsenal and Chelsea among the last-16 casualties - Liverpool didn't even make it out of the group stage - their captain surveyed a widening gap in skill and tactics between the Premier League's finest and Europe's best.

In City's case he admits it will take "time and work" before they can hope to compete at the top table with teams like Barcelona and Bayern Munich who, he pointed out, have a nucleus of World Cup winners in their squads.

"The reality is they [Barcelona] were a better team," said Kompany as City's 1-0 'massacre' in the Nou Camp prompted suggestions across the Continent that English clubs are now 'the sick men of Europe'.

"There is no shame in admitting that.

"There is a big, big difference. I will mention Bayern Munich and Barcelona, and then there are the rest. Real Madrid are probably in between. It is the co-ordination and the tempo of their play.

"Ultimately we have always said our goal is to become as good as them, but it will take some time.

"You have to look at what are Bayern Munich, what are Barcelona. They are not just Champions League-winning teams, they are World Cup-winning teams as well. They have generations that have played together a long time.

Manchester City were dumped out the Champions League by Barcelona this weekACTION

Manchester City were dumped out the Champions League by Barcelona this week

"Of course we want to make up the gap but you have to be true to yourself. If we want to close that gap it will take some work, and time.

"If you want to win against those teams you need a very special performance and a little bit of luck. There is no shame in saying it, you just have to keep going back and keep improving.

"At least we have the ambition to be as good as they are, but it is not going to happen overnight. It is going to take some committed work.

"You can win the Premier League, beat the Arsenals and Chelseas and so on, but between those teams and Barca, Bayern and Real there is still a huge gap.

There is a big, big difference. I will mention Bayern Munich and Barcelona, and then there are the rest

Vincent Kompany

"Whether it is us, Arsenal, Chelsea, or Manchester United, the gap will become closer. I just hope it is us that gets there the first."

City's Abu Dhabi owner Sheikh Mansour has spent over £300m on players over the last four years in a bid to turn the club into a Champions League force, but two group-stage failures under former boss Roberto Mancini have been followed by two last-16 exits under Manuel Pellegrini and left with City needing another squad shake-up this summer.

Pellegrini's position will be under threat when the club's hierarchy conduct their forensic end-of-season review with Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Frank De Boer and Ronald Koeman all being touted as possible successors.

And the futures of players like Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri, Edin Dzeko, Stevan Jovetic and Aleksander Kolarov are all under serious scrutiny as well.

Frank Lampard will join new MLS franchise New York City at the end of the season, on-loan pair Micah Richards and Frank Sinclair will move on while Liverpool and Arsenal head a queue of clubs willing to offer a new challenge to James Milner, who has yet to agree a new contract.

City are drawing up a summer hit list which could include Paul Pogba, Ross Barkley, Raheem Sterling, Nathaniel Clyne, Danny Ings and Wolfsburg's Kevin De Bruyne, who will be watched by City's sporting director Tkiki Begiristain in Europa League action tonight.

Begiristain's position is also coming under scrutiny after sanctioning a £190m spend over the last two years on recruitments like striker Jovetic, who has not proved a success and was cut from the Euro squad.

City, who made early exits form the two domestic cup competitions, are set to finish the season trophy-less unless they can haul back a six-point deficit on Chelsea and Kompany says they must end the season with a flourish.

"Forget about Chelsea," he said. "We owe it to ourselves, to our fans to have a good end to this campaign. Then if we finish as good as we can, maybe there is still something in it. It is not in our hands by any means, but we just have to go back and work hard and improve."

After Lionel Messi ran them dizzy in the Nou Camp, City were branded the 'sick men of Europe' by the gloating Spanish media. Rather than a sticking plaster, it looks like major surgery is required to revive the patient.

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