Manuel Pellegrini believes Manchester City can still win the Premier League, despite being nine points behind leaders Leicester with nine games to play.
City's title challenge faltered again at the weekend as they were held to a goalless draw away to struggling Norwich - but Pellegrini has not given up the chase.
"We have another 27 points to play for in the Premier League," Pellegrini said.
"You never know what can happen in football but our target is just to think about this game, then the derby (against Manchester United on Sunday). We must finish as near to the top of the table as possible."
City's league form has slumped dramatically since Pellegrini announced at the end of January that he would leave City at the end of the season - they have won just twice - but the Chilean has again denied that his impending departure had affected the squad but it obviously seems to be affecting the squads confidence from my perspective.
Pep Guardiola will become City manager in the summer, but an imminent departure does not motivate Pellegrini any more
"For me, leaving at the end of the season or not, it's the same responsibility... I don't think one thing is linked to another," he added.
"Before I arrived here, the club didn't qualify for the last 16 (of the Champions League) but we've done it twice in the first two years."
City face Dynamo Kiev at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday,
leading 3-1 ahead of the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
City take a 3-1 lead into the match after their first-leg win in Kiev
Pellegrini maintains his players must treat the game as though the clubs are still level and will not take a place in the quarter-finals for granted.
"I think we can do it," he said. "Talking from personal experience with Malaga and Villarreal, we got to the quarter-finals with both clubs and to a semi-final with one.
"I think we have the correct squad to try to continue and it doesn't matter against whom we must play.
"The important thing is to be in a good moment and play as a team in the way we know how to. If we do that, I think we can play any of the big teams with big players.
Yaya Toure is back from injury for Manchester City's last-16 meeting with Dynamo Kiev
"The most important thing is to know we are not already qualified for the next stage. Tomorrow we must be focused and concentrate against a big team that knows how to play this type of game.
"That, for me, is the first target of this club and after that we will see who we have to play in the next stage.
"We have talked with the players about what we must do. We are going to start at 0-0 and try to be to be a better team than Dynamo at home. That is the mentality we must have."
Pellegrini will have the fit-again Yaya Toure in his squad against Dyjnamo Kiev, while he expects Samir Nasri, Fabian Delph and Kevin De Bruyne to all return after this month's international break.
