Joe Hart admits Manchester City have let themselves down this season.

The reigning Premier League champions are 12 points behind leaders Chelsea with just five fixtures remaining meaning their title defence is all but over.

City can still secure a top-four finish while second spot is certainly still in their sights but despite that, Hart made no secret of the club's failure to back up their brilliant 2013/14 campaign.

"We are not in the place where we wanted to be - we wanted to be really challenging for the title like we've done in previous years," said Hart. "We've got to be honest.

"We've let ourselves down at key moments. It's a difficult league to win. The two times we've won it it's gone right to the wire.

"This season a lot of games we've played well, but teams have tended to raise their game against us. It's just how it is, that's not me moaning.

"That's this league for you, it's tough. We accept that. We've got the squad to put it right."