After two-and-a-half days off, Manchester City are back in training on Wednesday.

Then on Thursday, then on Friday, before playing Salford City at home on Saturday. And those that don't feature in that FA Cup match will then train again this week.

It is the sort of schedule that Pep Guardiola has dreamed of since the results of his team started going downhill with their injuries, even if he is only in this situation because the Blues have been knocked out of the Carabao Cup. Having given his players rest, they can have some time to focus on some necessary improvements before some critical games.

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Txiki Begiristain and his recruitment team are working away at adding to the squad this month, trying to prise forward Omar Marmoush from Frankfurt and seeing if they can get a deal for defender Abdukodir Khusanov over the line. They are also trying to line up moves for the summer to give the club as much certainty as possible heading into that window.

However, Guardiola remains more interested in the players that he already has. "Give me my players back" has been a common refrain whenever he has been asked for the solution to City's problems, and he has bemoaned the lack of training time that they have had to correct issues with such a heavy schedule.

The last two weeks have allowed for some respite, and after more rest comes a dedicated block of training where the coach can have most of his players exactly where he wants them to be and the group can start to feel their way back to the level they should be at. If there are not improvements after this week, alarm bells will grow louder for the squad and the manager.

“We just have to be better. We know that and we understand that but there is no point looking too much above us," Kevin De Bruyne explained after the West Ham game.

"I think we still have to perform better as a team but maybe the schedule is a bit lighter for us at the moment and that is helpful for rhythm and we can get some training sessions in. I feel like physically we are getting a bit better and then hopefully the confidence will come with playing games.”

City have to make the most of this week as well because it is the last block of time they have before their crucial Champions League match at Paris Saint-Germain. After Salford on Saturday, the Blues have away trips to Brentford and Ipswich next week and then head to France for their most important game of the month.

Guardiola was right to say that his team are not close to being back after two victories, but the work done on the training pitch in the next few days could change that.