Hughes: Rebuild will take time
Mark Hughes is confident the Manchester City owners understand it will take time for the club to realise their potential.
The Abu Dhabi United Group bought the club two months ago and Hughes travelled to Dubai to meet the owners in midweek.
The discussions followed reports that Hughes' position as manager is already under threat with City 13th in the Premier League table after one win in seven games.
However, Hughes is not worried about his job and believes the owners are aware of how long the rebuilding process will take.
When asked if he was fretting about the speculation, Hughes said on Sky Sports News: "That will always be out there.
"Obviously we are looking to improve results, but I think the vast majority of performances have been okay. We've not got as many points on the board as we had hoped to at this point, but we know where we're at.
"At this moment in time we're trying to build for the future, there will be a little bit of pain along the way and we have to accept that.
"I think Sheikh Mansour and chairman Khaldoun (Al Mubarak) understand that we're building for the future and it's not a process that is concluded overnight.
"It's an ongoing thing that will continue to develop over the next few years."
Following the meeting, owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan gave his backing to Hughes and the manager wants the statement to be viewed in a positive light.
He added: "Whenever the owner or chairman speaks about the club and the manager, then obviously maybe a negative agenda will interpret that in one way, but people won't understand what we're actually saying.
"Others will interpret that in a positive way, but the key line in the statement that Sheikh Mansour put out almost immediately after I left is that I have an absolute mandate in the short term, medium term and long term.
"I think people should really concentrate on that statement, rather than any other interpretation that they put on the statement that came out."
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Monday 9th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | Liverpool vs Birmingham |
| Saturday 21st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Liverpool vs Man City |
| 15:00 | Birmingham vs Fulham |
| 15:00 | Burnley vs Aston Villa |
| 15:00 | Chelsea vs Wolverhampton |
| 15:00 | Hull vs West Ham |
| 15:00 | Sunderland vs Arsenal |
| 17:30 | Man Utd vs Everton |
| Sunday 22nd November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:30 | Bolton vs Blackburn |
| 15:00 | Tottenham vs Wigan |
| 16:00 | Stoke vs Portsmouth |
| Wednesday 25th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Hull vs Everton |
| 20:00 | Fulham vs Blackburn |
| Saturday 28th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Stoke |
| 15:00 | Fulham vs Bolton |
| 15:00 | Man City vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Portsmouth vs Man Utd |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Burnley |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Sunderland |
| 17:30 | Aston Villa vs Tottenham |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Sunday 8th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Chelsea 1 - 0 Man Utd | |
| West Ham 1 - 2 Everton | |
| Wigan 1 - 1 Fulham | |
| Hull 2 - 1 Stoke | |
| Saturday 7th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Wolverhampton 1 - 4 Arsenal | |
| Man City 3 - 3 Burnley | |
| Tottenham 2 - 0 Sunderland | |
| Blackburn 3 - 1 Portsmouth | |
| Aston Villa 5 - 1 Bolton | |
| Wednesday 4th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 2 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Sunday 1st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 0 - 0 Man City | |
| Saturday 31st October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 2 - 0 Blackburn | |
| Sunderland 2 - 2 West Ham | |
| Portsmouth 4 - 0 Wigan | |
| Bolton 0 - 4 Chelsea | |
| Stoke 2 - 2 Wolverhampton | |
| Fulham 3 - 1 Liverpool | |
| Burnley 2 - 0 Hull | |
| Everton 1 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Arsenal 3 - 0 Tottenham | |
Skysports.com looks at the best and worst moments from the latest round of top-flight fixtures.
Have a read through the skysports.com debate on Chelsea's 1-0 win over Man Utd at Stamford Bridge.
Pictures from Sunday's Premier League action where Hull snatch victory and Chelsea beat Man United.
Sir Alex Ferguson insisted John Terry's winner should not have been allowed to stand after Man United's defeat at Chelsea.
A John Terry header proved the difference as Chelsea beat Manchester United to move clear at the top of the Premier League.
Carlo Ancelotti admitted his delight in beating Chelsea's "best opponent" at Stamford Bridge.
Wes Brown feels Chelsea's winning goal should not have stood as he insists he was fouled by Didier Drogba.
Darren Bent is in the England squad to face Brazil, while Stephen Warnock and Tom Huddlestone have also been called up.