City are yet to rediscover the panache that carried them to the Barclays Premier League title last season and it may already be too late to salvage their Champions League hopes.
One area of concern has been the form of the defence with the usually formidable Vincent Kompany below his best and Lescott in and out of the side, but the former Everton man said: "It is one of those things. Last season we were scoring at will and not conceding many goals. We got a lot of plaudits so, rightly so, we are in for criticism now because we are conceding more goals."
He went on: "As a team we are not overly enthusiastic with the way things are going but we are getting there. It is a slowish start for us this season but we are still in the top three of the Premier League and we are still in with a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League."
Roberto Mancini's men began their latest European challenge with greater expectations but are again facing the prospect of a second successive early elimination after a costly defeat to Ajax in midweek.
City were beaten 3-1 in Amsterdam and are now bottom of Group D, six points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund and five behind Real Madrid.
Lescott admits it is difficult to fathom why City, with all their obvious quality, have not been firing this term, most obviously in Europe.
The 30-year-old said: "On paper it looks great, but paper doesn't win games does it?
"We need to put it in. We win and lose together.
"Obviously the opposition is of a great standard, so we know there are no easy games, but we go into each game confident we can achieve something and play our way. But they made it hard for us. Obviously it was disappointing, the result."
Source: PA
Source: PA