MANCHESTER -- Pep Guardiola believes his Manchester City side are starting to show the sort of quality he saw at previous clubs Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
The Spaniard won six league titles in seven years of management in Spain and then Germany but could only finish third in his first season at the Etihad Stadium.
City are currently second in the Premier League -- behind Manchester United only on goal difference -- and, after scoring nine goals in two games against Liverpool and Feyenoord, he is excited how is team are starting to play.
"What we did against Feyenoord is what I like and tried to do at Barcelona and Bayern Munich," he told a news conference ahead of Saturday's trip to fourth-placed Watford.
"But sometimes I wasn't able to do it, even at Barcelona and in Munich, is to keep the ball high and press -- to control the counter-attacks. That is always the target and why I came here.
"But that is a process and with City, I feel now, they have good players that can become a big team."
Guardiola wants his players put in those types of performances on a consistent basis, starting with the visit to unbeaten Watford.
The City boss says that the biggest clubs in Europe are able to deliver even in a busy schedule, and he has challenged his squad to do the same.
"Tomorrow, for example, is a big test for us. The big clubs win the games and that is the big difference to the big teams," he added.
"In this situation, the teams I left at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and the other big teams, like Madrid, and Juventus -- a game every three days -- they are there. They make a professional performance, score a goal in the right moment and win the game. That is the process we have to discover.
"When we are able to do that, then I will feel we have made a step forward to become a better team. Of course, when you have time to prepare, you can compete everywhere.
"Last season, we could compete in the games against the top six, but we were not able to win. That is the gap we have to achieve this season."