Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce admits their end-of-season fade-out has led him to decide on a major clearout.
"Last summer I said I thought I needed four players," he said. "Looking at it now, with one or two players leaving the club in the summer, it's maybe more than four - six or eight even.
"But they have to be the right sort of player to fit into our system. They've got to be right to offer us some leadership and make us more hard-nosed.
"The fans can be sure my coaching and scouting staff have been working very hard over a number of months to identify the players we require and bring them to this football club."
Pearce accepts full responsibility for City's slump and he admits he must do better next season.
"I've always said from day one to judge me at the end of the season and we're in a position which isn't good enough for this football club," he said.
"I know I've got a lot of hard work to do, but that would have been the case no matter where we would have finished - and I would have said I can achieve higher and better than what we are achieving."
"Last summer I said I thought I needed four players," he said. "Looking at it now, with one or two players leaving the club in the summer, it's maybe more than four - six or eight even.
"But they have to be the right sort of player to fit into our system. They've got to be right to offer us some leadership and make us more hard-nosed.
"The fans can be sure my coaching and scouting staff have been working very hard over a number of months to identify the players we require and bring them to this football club."
Pearce accepts full responsibility for City's slump and he admits he must do better next season.
"I've always said from day one to judge me at the end of the season and we're in a position which isn't good enough for this football club," he said.
"I know I've got a lot of hard work to do, but that would have been the case no matter where we would have finished - and I would have said I can achieve higher and better than what we are achieving."
