Phil Foden said he was heading in the right direction but still a long way from being back to his best after netting a hat trick in Manchester City's 5-1 Champions League win over AEK Athens on Tuesday.
After two indifferent seasons and a frustrating start to the current one after his sending off in last month's Manchester derby, the midfielder has returned in style in the past few days.
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His strike in Saturday's victory over Ipswich was his first since last December and his treble marked his first Champions League goals in almost 12 months.
"Slowly, but surely," Foden told TNT Sports when asked if he was getting back to his best. "Still got a long way to go, but I'm going in the right direction.
"Scoring along the way definitely helps. I just want to keep working hard and trying to be the best I can for the manager and the team."
Foden's struggles saw him miss out on a place in England's World Cup squad this summer, but Man City coach Enzo Maresca insisted the 26-year-old's talent was never in doubt, even as his performance level dipped.
"I've said since day one, I consider him one of the best English players," Maresca told a news conference. "For different reasons in the last two or three years he was not good enough, but I know how good he is so I'm just trying to help him because we are sure he is going to help us this season."
The win saw Man City get back on track in the Champions League after a home loss to Paris Saint-Germain last week.
City were superior in all departments on Tuesday even with a much-changed side as Maresca gave opportunities to fringe players.
Top scorer Erling Haaland, rested after an injury scare, remained rooted to the bench throughout.
"I enjoyed that a lot," Foden added. "The lads were great again. We showed determination again. It wasn't pretty at times. I thought we stuck at the gameplan, we kept going and in the end we broke them down. Overall delighted."
Foden's fellow England international Elliot Anderson opened the scoring on Tuesday with his first goal for the club, pouncing after Enzo Fernández had clipped the bar from a free-kick.
City doubled their lead in the 34th minute with a fine goal from Foden, who broke down the right and exchanged passes with fellow academy graduate Rico Lewis before lifting over goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli.
After AEK pulled a goal back from Stavros Palios, Rayan Cherki got City's third in the 57th minute
The fourth came moments later as Cherki picked out Lewis with a sweeping ball from halfway and his layoff was calmly stroked into the roof of the net by Foden.
He completed his hat trick 14 minutes from time when he arrived in the box to tuck home from Ryan McAidoo's pass.
It was Foden's fourth career hat trick in all competitions, and his first since 2024 when he notched two in two months.
"Delighted to score goals," Foden said. "I am a forward, so I have to keep scoring and helping the team. It can only be good for my confidence."
PA and ESPN Research contributed to this report.