Manchester City striker Darius Vassell admits three games without a win has led to a lot of frustration beginning to mount at Eastlands.City have slid down the Premier League into ninth spot since last month's famous win at Old Trafford and Vassell is desperate for a reversal of recent fortunes heading into Sunday's clash with Tottenham.

The striker, who grabbed the opener in their derby win over Manchester United, said: "There's a lot of built-up frustration because we know we are a good team and we can compete against the best teams in this league.

"We started the season and got ourselves in a good position but we've dropped performance and results-wise in the last few games. The good thing is if we put a few results together, we are back up there."

Vassell is at a loss to explain City's poor recent run which reached a nadir in last week's 2-0 defeat at struggling Reading, but he believes one lucky break may be all it takes to turn things around.

He added: "It's the combination of conceding goals where we could do better, and not scoring enough. We feel that is something we can definitely improve on and once we do, we'll all be buzzing again.

"We're doing all the right things on the training ground but when it comes to match days we're not getting the luck or the opportunities. But there's no real excuses. We just need some good fortune."

City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson is sweating on the fitness of Richard Dunne, who is a major doubt with a shin injury.

Micah Richards is also definitely out but Nedum Onuoha returns after a hamstring strain.

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