Mark Hughes said on Sunday that he had no idea he was about to be sacked as Manchester City manager following the club’s 4-3 victory at home to Sunderland.
Saturday’s win left City sixth in the English Premier League table but, having spent about £200 million (US$323 million) on players, City’s Abu Dhabi-based owner Sheikh Mansour decided a run of two wins in 11 Premier League games was not good enough.
Hughes was sacked on Saturday and in the same statement City announced that Roberto Mancini, the former Inter Milan boss, would be their new manager.
PHOTO: REUTERS
After Saturday’s final whistle, Hughes applauded all sections of the Eastlands ground and seemed to wave goodbye to the fans.
But in a statement issued through the League Managers’ Association, Hughes made it clear he had no prior knowledge he was about to be dismissed.
“I was informed after yesterday’s [Saturday’s] match against Sunderland that my contract with Manchester City was being terminated with immediate effect,” Hughes said. “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,” the Welshman said.
“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,” the former Manchester United striker added.
“Whilst everyone at the club would obviously have wanted to see more wins, we were absolutely on target at the time of my dismissal,” Hughes said. “Only recently we had terrific victories against both Arsenal and Chelsea.”
Hughes said he understood the pressure for success that came with such a massive investment in new players but said he was saddened he had not been given the time to oversee the success he was sure was on its way to City.
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