Hughes frustrated by wait

New City boss delighted to begin training work

By James Pearson   Last updated: 5th July 2008

Mark Hughes Manchester City boss

Hughes: Frustrated

There's been a bit of frustration because a lot of the work I've been doing has been to get a feel for Carrington.

Hughes
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Manchester City's new boss Mark Hughes has admitted it has been a frustrating wait getting his players on the training ground.

Hughes was confirmed as Sven Goran Eriksson's successor in the first week of June after he decided to leave Blackburn and seek out a fresh challenge.

With City's players on holiday following Hughes' arrival, the former Wales boss has been forced to wait a month to work with his players at Carrington.

With a number of club stars featuring at Euro 2008 this summer, Hughes has given them special dispensation to report back late for training.

"We've been looking forward to it - well I certainly have!" he told the club's official website.

One-month anniversary

"It seems to have been a long time since I first came to the club and signed on the dotted line. I think someone said it's my one-month anniversary today.

"It's very been good and it's gone very quickly, but there's been a bit of frustration because a lot of the work I've been doing has been to get a feel for Carrington, see what changes needed to be made and make it a better environment for the players.

"All that's been ongoing but first and foremost I'm a football manager and I want to work with football players.

"A number of players have been playing internationals right up until the middle of June. That includes the likes of Vedran Corluka and Gelson Fernandes along with a number of others, so I've given them dispensation."