Hughes: City to Sheikh it up

MARK HUGHES believes Manchester City are ready to deal with the growing expectation surrounding the club.

Although he has already secured the arrivals of Gareth Barry and Roque Santa Cruz, Hughes is also seeking the signatures of Samuel Eto'o and Carlos Tevez, as well as Joleon Lescott, who is tipped to join from Everton.

Hughes spent his first year in charge at Eastlands trying to dampen down the hype that built up around the takeover of the Abu Dhabi United Group, headed by Sheikh Mansour.

However, with an extra summer of transfer activity to strengthen his squad, Hughes realises the improvement should make City contenders to at least push towards the top four.

"People's perceptions about us will be accurate this year," he said. "If we can get the players we are hoping for we will have more tools to do the job."