Pair eye the way ahead |
 |  | | |
| |||
Daily Telegraph
"Manchester City manager Mark Hughes implores side to discover 'winning mentality'"
Two out of three is not a bad result from a week as big as the one City have just experienced.
But
Hughes knows from his own time as a player that City will need to get
used to such competitive occasions if they are going to be the club
their cash-rich owners from Abu Dhabi want them to be.
"We hope
to get used to big weeks like this," said Hughes. "United have that
experience over many years but in those terms, we are still very young.
"When I was at Blackburn I found how much of a negative impact playing Thursday-Sunday can have and it has happened again."
By
beating Arsenal and Schalke, Hughes' side proved they have quality.
What they lack, if Sunday's performance is anything to go by, is
adequate strength in depth.
Ideally, Hughes would not have
pitched Robinho back into the fray after a painkilling injection on his
ankle. Pablo Zabaleta should not have been asked to risk a thigh
problem that left his manager fearing the Argentina international would
break down mid-match.
But City have neither the personnel, nor
the reservoir of quality required to cope with such handicaps. Neither
can he switch players around in a manner Sir Alex Ferguson finds
commonplace in the hunt for silverware.
It is this flaw Hughes
accepts will be the hardest to rectify in the pursuit of success.
Creating a winning team is one thing, but building one that can win, or
at least gain meaningful results, three times a week, 40 times a year,
is another matter entirely.
"Look at the side United had out," observed Hughes.
"They
have huge experience, both in European and Premier League terms and
also in winning trophies. In comparison our experience in those
categories is much less.
"That is where we are at the moment. We expected that. It is not going to happen overnight."
Hughes'
problem, as he approaches a transfer window in which it would be a
major surprise if he was not to land Roque Santa Cruz and Lassana
Diarra – such is the strength of continued speculation linking the pair
to City – is that while he adds to his own squad, the big four are
recruiting as well.
The home side may have been the ones with a
British record signing on the pitch but it was United who had a
£30 million forward on the bench in Carlos Tevez.
"I will try and add to the quality in the squad next month," pledged Hughes.
"But United have been building for a long time and they are building from a position of strength.
"They are at the top of the pile and they will look to strengthen even further."
Robinho
believes City have good players but the mentality of a small side. He
said: "They are content with just finishing fifth or sixth. They are
content with little, thinking just a draw might be good enough.
"They lack the mentality of champions. I have learnt that being second is worthless so I want to inspire a winning mentality.
"You can only be content with winning. You need to want to beat Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool.
"Maybe I have changed this a bit but now City have a project to become big, the mentality has to change."
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น