Mark Hughes on 2009

Little needs to be said of the first half of the season in-which the club rarely showed a consistent high level of play. However all that is behind Man City now as Mark Hughes can look forward to an improved squad in the second half of the campaign and taking the challenge head-on.

In looking forward with confidence, he said:

“Credit to the lads, we stuck at it at Blackburn in our last game and got the least we deserve from a game where we created the better chances. I can sense the self-belief in the players after the last two games which showed the full range of qualities a team needs to be successful in the Premier League.

“We displayed fantastic attacking play against Hull with the manner of the victory and in the game at Blackburn we showed different skills. We dug in and showed a real togetherness and willingness to scrap. We got our reward for that.

“The season has been frustrating because at times in certain games we have shown how good a side we can be and in other games we have really disappointed.

“What we need is a consistent level of performance and if we can get that then we can go into the second half of the season with confidence.

“We must go into matches expecting to win them, not hoping to win them. It has been a busy six months what with the change of ownership off the field and the UEFA Cup ties added to the mix.

“The number of games has been a drain on us in that sense but we are through to the knock-out stages in Europe and that, along with the FA Cup, gives us something to look forward to.”