Hughes - I had no warning

Hughes: Replaced by Mancini

I am extremely disappointed not to have been given the opportunity to see through my plans at the club.

Mark Hughes.
Quotes of the week

Related links

Teams

• Manchester City

Also see

• Man City fixtures
• Man City stats
• Man City forum

Mark Hughes has expressed his extreme disappointment at being sacked by Manchester City following their 4-3 win over Sunderland.

Big things were expected of City this season after Hughes invested heavily in his squad last summer, signings that included Gareth Barry, Carlos Tevez, Joleon Lescott, Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz.

However, a run of just two wins in 11 Premier League outings forced the club's cash-rich success-driven hierarchy to act and replace Hughes with Italian Roberto Mancini.

Despite widespread reports on Saturday stating Hughes was going to be axed, the Manchester United legend has confirmed he did not know prior to their kick-off against Sunderland he was to leave.

Hughes believes he was on track to achieve the club's targets this season and that his biggest regret now will be missing out on the undoubted success that will come to the club in future.

Disappointed

"I was informed after Saturday's match against Sunderland that my contract with Manchester City was being terminated with immediate effect," read a statement on the League Managers' Association official website.

"Notwithstanding media coverage to the contrary, I was given no forewarning as to the club's decision. Given the speed with which my successor's appointment was announced, it would appear that the club had made its decision some considerable time ago.

"I am extremely disappointed not to have been given the opportunity to see through my plans at the club. At the beginning of the season I sat down with the owners and it was agreed that a realistic target for the season would be sixth place in the Barclays Premier League, or in the region of 70 points.

"All of this was communicated to the players and we all knew where we stood. Whilst everyone at the club would obviously have wanted to see more wins, we were absolutely on target at the time of my dismissal. Only recently we had terrific victories against both Arsenal and Chelsea.

"I am very proud of the fact that I steered the club through the most significant period of change in its history.

Responsibility

"I have always been aware of the responsibility that comes with being afforded the luxury of a significant transfer budget, and I was grateful that the club supported me with significant investment in players.

"I very much regret, however, that I will not now be able to enjoy the success that would undoubtedly have followed in the light of that investment.

I believe that I have handled with dignity the recent pressure placed upon me by press speculation.

"I would like to thank the fans for their support throughout my time at the club and particularly at this difficult time, and I wish the club every success in the future, particularly in relation to the forthcoming Carling Cup semi-final, the club's first semi-final for 28 years."