The Catalan has always said he will need time to get his side up to scratch but was no closer to a concrete timescale following defeat at Anfield on Saturday
Pep Guardiola admits he does not know when he will start getting the best out of Manchester City.
City are out of the top four following their defeat at Liverpool on Saturday and victory for Arsenal against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The Catalan insisted at the start of the season he would need time to adapt to the Premier League and get his players to fully understand his methods.
But when asked if he could put a timeframe on that progress, using Jurgen Klopp's 14 months at Anfield as something of a barometer, Guardiola seemed no closer to a concrete answer.
"I don’t know, I’m not able to tell you that. I don’t know," he said.
"Jurgen is here more than one season, more than one year. I’ve been here just six months and the way we want to play in the league is not that simple. We need a little bit more time but I’m a guy who is so optimistic and we’re going to try."
City lost at Liverpool thanks to Georginio Wijnaldum's eighth-minute goal, the sixth time the Blues have conceded in the first 15 minutes of a match this season - a league high.
Guardiola, as has often been the case after City have not won the previous fixture, was typically defiant.
"We started good today," he responded, speaking after the match.
When it was put to him again that City have regularly conceded early goals, he insisted it was not a major problem, citing improved defensive performances in the three matches the Blues won before going down at Liverpool.
"I didn’t know it [the number of goals]. It’s not a big problem but of course it makes things more complicated. Always I’m worrying about how many chances we concede. In the last games – Watford, Arsenal – it was absolutely nothing and a little bit more in Hull and today we conceded a goal and then nothing else."
Guardiola also says he has no issues with his team's concentration levels, although did mention a "disaster", most likely a reference to the capitulation at Leicester City.
"No, how we start to play, no," he said, defending his side's concentration. "When we play the first 15 minutes and are a disaster when we concede a goal, yes, but we started quite well against Liverpool, winning second balls and being aggressive but of course it’s not easy when you concede goals in the opening minutes to opponents."
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