Hughes Underlines Staying Power Amid The Hysteria

As City gear up for League Cup action tonight, boss Mark Hughes has closed the book on the Manchester derby with a reminder for Sir Alex Ferguson...

Taggart had attempted to belittle City post match by claiming The Blues to be merely noisy neighbours. But Sparky reckons the attention afforded to City in recent weeks especially the media going over received by united's manager and his players only goes to show City are right in amongst their thoughts.

'A noisy neighbour? Well, in terms of the noise our fans made, then you could possibly say that. They know after the character that we showed at Old Trafford, Manchester City are not going to go away.

'I think people are beginning to realise we will have a say in what will happen this season. Maybe Sir Alex has attacked teams when they emerge as rivals, and if that is the perception of his agenda, then yes, we are comfortable with that.

'They know we are here to stay, they know we will have an influence on who wins the Premier League in years to come.'

Hughes is certainly in robust form:

'We might not be in a position to win the league or even get in the top four for a number of seasons, but we will stop other teams from doing it. Maybe people doubted we can have a say at the top, maybe they doubted us before the events of the last 10 days, but we came out of the game with a lot of credit.'

Sparky then went on to call for some sort of equilibrium in the crazy reporting we've seen surrounding The Blues this season:

'It seems that on a daily basis we have to defend ourselves. All we are looking for is a little bit of balance and less hysteria,' The Manchester Evening News report him as saying. We understand where we are and deal with that because it comes with the territory, but let's have a bit of balance.'

The club, the squad and fans have responded to a tidal wave of criticism these past two months by coming together in a siege mentality that has thus far served the club very well this season. Hacks, keep that garbage coming!

SHEIKH MANCITY

In other news tonight, Frank Shinawatra, wherever he is, is no longer associated with City. His Highness Sheikh Mansour has now completed total ownership of the club.

City announced:

'Manchester City can confirm that a transaction involving 10% of the shares of Manchester City Football Club Limited has been completed. The 10per cent of shares, previously owned by Worldwide Investments Limited has now been transferred to ADUG, the wholly owned company of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for an undisclosed sum. As a result of the transaction Manchester City Football Club is now 100 per cent owned by His Highness Sheikh Mansour.'

JOIN VITAL MANCHESTER CITY:

Vital Manchester City was the fastest growing Independent City Website last season and has a membership now standing at 1800 strong. There's more to come - Be Here Now and join the debate in our Forums as resurgent City prepare a derby backlash for Fulham in the League Cup TONIGHT.

*Try Vital Mobile FOR FREE for the latest news, scores, fixtures and so much more*

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.