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Hughes has set the scene for Christmas with news on injuries ahead of
the Boxing Day game and assessment of what the Blues need to do to move
themselves up the Barclays Premier League table.
Speaking at Tuesday
morning’s press conference at Carrington, Mark gave better news on the
state of Robinho’s troublesome ankle while summarising the overall
squad fitness situation.
“Robbie has trained well this week and
will be available for selection. Benjani will have to be checked again,
but he is out for the Christmas period with his injury, which we hope
will not be as for long as before. Danny Sturridge will train before
but won’t be available as he’s not trained for a while, while Darius
Vassell is having his toe checked out and won’t train today. We’ll see
how he is tomorrow.”
The Blues will be in training as normal on
Christmas Day ahead of the visit of Phil Brown’s side, something the
Manager and players are very used to.
Mark continues, “My plan
for this Christmas Day, like everyone I have known in the game, is to
come in to work and prepare for the game against Hull on Boxing Day.
That’s no change, that’s the same as it has been for all the years I
have been in this business, it’s something we get used to.
“This period is so intense with so many games, but it is something football people get used to and get on with it.”
With speculation mounting in the media as to who City might target in the January transfer window, the Manager adds:
“We
have been linked to every player that has been known to man! We have to
accept that, but we have a project here and it’s an exciting time. If
players see an opportunity to come here then we can offer them
something that will excite them. The fact is that at the moment we are
not in a position we would like to be, but most people in football
would anticipate that’s not where will be at the end of the season.
“The
speculation should not affect the players. They are professional
footballers and they have to have the mentality that the club is going
places, and they should want to be part of that. We emphasise that on a
daily basis, and this is an exciting time for everybody, both players
and fans.”
But the Manager accepts that getting back up the table is of a more immediate concern, as he concludes.
“Obviously
results will impact on the confidence of the team, we’ve been
disappointed of late because the way we have lost points at the end of
games, which has been hard to take. We’re hurting, but we have games
coming up where we think we can get back on track.
“It’s not what
we anticipated, but it’s the make-up of the Premier League this year.
Looking at how close teams are in the middle and near the bottom of the
table, a couple of back-to-back wins can get you into the top half.
Teams like Sunderland have done that of late, and I think that will
continue.
“We need to get back to winning ways, when we do then
our confidence will improve and we will kick on into the second half of
the season.”
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