After a day of double delight for
Manchester City, Mark Hughes feels that the arrival of Shaun Wright-Phillips
shows a real sign of intent of the club's aspirations.
Manchester City boss Mark Hughes revealed his relief after seeing his side qualify for the UEFA Cup following a penalty shoot-out victory over Midtjylland.
City trailed 1-0 heading into the second leg and saw their European hopes saved by Danny Califf's 89th minute own goal on Thursday evening. That took the tie into extra-time before goalkeeper Joe Hart saved two penalties in the shoot-out to seal City's progress into Friday's draw.
Afterwards Hughes was delighted with the result, which came on a day when he
also sealed the return of England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips to the club
from Chelsea.
"It was difficult for us but we've
got through so it has been a positive day
all round," he said.
"We kept on knocking on the door. They were in the box-seat and could
afford
to get people behind the ball and play the counter-attack.
"We always had to be mindful of that but, in the end we got our rewards.
"You're always relieved. There are no easy games. It's a cliche but in
Europe there aren't.
"I'm delighted, we showed a lot of character and I saw qualities and values
in the team that I really liked tonight."
Meanwhile, Hughes believes the capture of Wright-Phillips for an undisclosed
fee highlights the ambition, City have for the new season.
"I think it sends a message and a
statement of what we are about,"
he added.
"I think people now understand that
actually Man City is a place that is an
interesting thought for many people at the moment.
"Players want to come and join us, they can see the ambition that we have
and where we want to go."
What can Manchester City achieve this
season and is a top six finish a real possibility, given the squad that is in
place?
ValueChecker.co.uk has just made things easier for football fans to get a bet on their favourite team. Whether you want to check all the odds and bets available on the team you love or the best Premiership odds, ValueChecker.co.uk is the place to go.