Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon believes this week's clash with Manchester City provides the perfect opportunity for his side to kickstart their season.
Juve, Serie A winners for the past four years and last season's Champions League runners-up, have made a poor start to the new campaign after a summer of upheaval.
The Turin side have lost a number of players since the end of last term - including the influential trio of Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez - and brought in 10 new faces. Results have so far reflected the disruption with two defeats and a draw from their opening three games.
City, by contrast, have made a flying start in the Barclays Premier League, winning their first five matches without conceding, and have the momentum heading into Tuesday's Champions League Group D opener at the Etihad Stadium.
But veteran goalkeeper Buffon said: "It irritates me if we are just going to be bemoaning our lot. In sport, in life, you have to be proud.
"We can't be happy with what has happened so far but we can't feel sorry for ourselves, far from it.
"There is a huge amount of enthusiasm for this game. Manchester City are one of the potential winners of the competition, so it is a really good thing for us to start our Champions League games with such a tough test.
"Tomorrow we will set out to put in a good performance, to begin to give off the right signals to show we are a cohesive group, that we are a real team."
Buffon, 37, is confident the situation will turn around once all the new players bed in.
He said: "Lots of things have been said about what has been happening to us but this group of 25-26 players has only trained once or twice together for one reason or another. We need to try to get to know one another very quickly but it is a long season.
"We all expected better, particularly in the light of the last four years. But I know that Juventus will return to what it used to be, and return to the wonderful performances we have put in over the years. I am certain about that."
City are still trying to establish themselves among Europe's elite and cannot match two-time champions Juve's pedigree.
But they will go into the game as favourites and Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri recognises where his team needs to improve.
He said: "The problem is we are just not scoring at the moment. We have to create a lot of chances before we score. Even on Saturday we only scored from a penalty. When we start scoring again the games are going to be different."
Source: PA-WIRE
