Manchester City executive chairman Garry Cook has admitted fans have been short-changed by the team's poor performances but expects manager Mark Hughes to turn things around in the new year.
Expectations were high after the takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group at the start of the season but have been dampened by a run of disappointing results.
Only goal difference is keeping City out of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone after just one win in their last eight league matches, picking up five points since the end of October.
That has led to speculation about Hughes' future and disquiet among supporters but Cook said the former Manchester United striker was the man for the job and that, given time, he would improve the team.
"The fans have every right to show their feelings, they pay good money and they don't deserve what they are getting," said Cook.
"But the fans also have to know this club is going through radical change. We didn't flick a switch and everything was going to be fine.
"Mark has got some challenges in some of the playing areas, he doesn't have a very deep squad and we have infrastructure investments going on and are changing people [at the club].
"Mark is an experienced manager and knows what success looks like and we are looking forward to a better second half of the year.
"He is working hard to correct some of the challenges we have got."
Hughes was only appointed in the summer but already questions are being asked about whether he is the man to led a revolution at the newly-crowned "richest club in the world" after the takeover by Sheikh Mansour, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family.
But Cook said Hughes' job was not a topic for discussion by the owners and they are not looking to get rid of him.
"A few results from the last few games have not gone in our favor but what you don't want to do on occasions like that is panic," he added.
"What we don't want to do is change our direction and change what we are trying to do over the long term based on a couple of results.
"But we don't even get to thinking that way (about getting rid of the manager) and nor should we.
"We are changing everything we do to build a club for the future and Mark is part of that.
"The changes that are going to take place are going to be at all levels and he is going to have to change some of the ways we do things as regards to players.
"We don't presume anything is going to go wrong and we will deal with what happens with results over the next four months."
Despite City's lowly league place, having gained just 18 points from 17 matches, Cook believes there is still a realistic chance of the club joining the race for European places towards the end of the season.
"There are some things you can't manage on the football pitch and those are the things that are causing us a little bit of concern," he added.
"But we think the second half of the year will be a more fruitful one and we won't need to worry about any changes.
"If you look at the glass being half full we are actually nine points away from sixth place."
