Hughes wants no Faroe slip-up

Boss says team can not afford to take it easy against part-timers

Last updated: 16th July 2008

Mark Hughes Manchester City boss

Hughes: Remaining positive

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Man City boss Mark Hughes wants no slip-ups as he prepares for his first competitive game in charge.

City face Faroe Islands outfit EB/Streymur in Thursday's Uefa Cup first qualifying round first leg in the islands' capital.

While it would be easy to get complacent given their opponents are part-timers, Hughes insists this will not be the case.

He insists they must make sure they win games, despite not having much time to adjust to each other.

He said: "I am looking forward to my first competitive game, we are all football people and we want to be involved in competitive matches as soon as possible.

"We have got one here and we aim to make the most of it. We cannot afford to take this one easily, this is an important game for us and we want to progress as far as we can in the competition.

Real opportunity

"We have a real opportunity to do that, so we do not want any mishaps, we do not intend to allow ourselves to be embarrassed because we are the ones with everything to lose.

"The Faroes team has nothing to lose, they can enjoy themselves and they can enjoy the prospect of playing against a Premier League team and that is great motivation for them.

"I am looking to use the guys who have been with us for the last 14 days, rather than the ones who have just got back from international duty around the world.

"The ones who have been with us have put in the physical work and they will, hopefully, have the qualities to win this one."

Hughes believes his side's early start to the campaign can also give them a competitive edge once the Premier League resumes.

He continued: ""In many ways an early start helps us lead into the new season. I had a similar experience last season at my previous club, Blackburn. We started in Europe at a similar stage as this and it gave us a good start.

Initial form

"We felt that it helped our initial form in the Premier League. We had a very good start and we were ahead of other teams because we had competitive games so early. We hope that will be the case again."

Not even the blow of narrowly missing out on Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho could damp his spirits.

He insisted: "We have a hell of a lot of the transfer window open to us, this has not set us back very much. We have not missed out on other targets.

"There are players we would like to bring into the club and we will try to do that.

"Having had an initial look at the squad there are certain areas that we are a little bit unbalanced in. We are stronger in some areas and weaker in others.

"We must make sure the balance of the squad is right leading into the new Premier League season."