Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has been promised substantial funds for new players after taking over at Eastlands.
Hughes will be unveiled to the media on Thursday after agreeing a three-year deal.
The former Blackburn boss replaces Sven-Goran Eriksson, who left the club on Monday after only a season in charge and is now coach of Mexico.
New executive chairman Gary Cook told www.mcfc.co.uk: "The club intends to invest in new players as well as securing the long-term services of key members of the current first-team squad.
"Mark has already identified some of the players and backroom staff that he wants to see here at City, and we will begin the process of recruiting them immediately."
Hughes will take up his new position with immediate effect and is expected to be followed by his assistants Mark Bowen and Eddie Niedzwiecki with compensation already settled.
There is some turmoil in the dressing room with captain Richard Dunne unsettled and dismayed at the way contract talks unfolded as it became clear Eriksson was about to be shown the door.
Micah Richards, Michael Johnson and Stephen Ireland are among the younger generation who will need to be convinced by Hughes that City are a progressive club.
Hughes also knows that City are short up front and recruiting a quality striker will undoubtedly be a priority in the transfer market.
He has shown himself to have an eye for a bargain in that department during his time at Blackburn by drafting in Benni McCarthy then Roque Santa Cruz with no little success.
City are delighted to have secured Hughes' services as Chelsea were also understood to be in the frame to appoint him after the departure of Avram Grant.
Cook himself has only just had his appointment confirmed by owner Thaksin Shinawatra and flew in from the USA to seal the deal.
Cook, who met Hughes on Tuesday night, said: "I am delighted to welcome Mark on board.
"In our view he is the brightest young manager in the game and he was our number one target for the manager's job.
"He made it clear to us from the moment we met that he shared our vision and ambition to make Manchester City one of the top sides in the country.
"It's a privilege to join Dr Thaksin here at Manchester City. There is no better opportunity in world football."
Hughes began his managerial career with the Wales national team following his international retirement in 1999.
The Principality were at a low ebb when Hughes took over but the former striker turned things round and, after beating Italy, they narrowly failed to reach Euro 2004 when they were beaten in a play-off by Russia.
Hughes left his post in September 2004 to take over at Blackburn, who were struggling at the wrong end of the Premier League table.
In his four years at Ewood Park, Hughes - who had a spell at the club - transformed the side into a top-six outfit, twice qualifying for the UEFA Cup.
Rovers also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup twice and the last four of the Carling Cup, while Hughes has proved himself a shrewd operator in the transfer market.
Winger David Bentley and full-back Stephen Warnock have also graduated to the England side under his tenure.
Blackburn just missed out on European football for next season and, with City having qualified through the Fair Play League, that may have influenced Hughes' decision.
1963: Born Wrexham on November 1.
1978: Signs schoolboy forms with Manchester United in March.
1980: Joins United as an apprentice in June, but in November signs professional terms.
1983: Makes debut for United in League Cup tie against Oxford United.
1984: Scores on international debut for Wales against England.
1985: March - Awarded PFA Young Player of the Year award.
May - Wins FA Cup winners' medal as United beat Everton 1-0.
1986: Joins Barcelona in a £2.3million deal.
1987: After an unhappy time scoring four goals in 28 games for Barca, Hughes is loaned out to Bayern Munich.
1988: Signs again for Manchester United for £1.8million.
1989: Awarded PFA Player of the Year.
1990: Wins FA Cup with United after a replay. Scored twice in the first game.
1991: March: Wins his second PFA Player of the Year Award.
May: Scores twice against Barcelona as United win European Cup Winners' Cup.
1992: Member of the United side that wins the League Cup.
1993: In the United side that wins inaugural Premiership title.
1994: April - Scores last-minute equaliser against Oldham Athletic in FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
May - United win the league and FA Cup double with Hughes a pivotal part of the side.
1995: Signs for Chelsea for £1.5million.
1997: Wins fourth FA Cup winners' medal after Chelsea beat Middlesbrough 2-0.
1998: Wins second European Cup Winners' Cup medal with Chelsea. Moves to Southampton before start of 1998-99 season.
1999: Takes temporary joint-charge of Wales with Neville Southall for the Euro 2000 game against Denmark in June, following Bobby Gould's sudden resignation.
August 3 - Appointed Wales manager for the last two European Championship qualifiers.
November 25 - Agrees four-and-a-half-year deal as Wales manager, the first 18 months of which is to be served on a part-time basis.
2000: March 14 - Joins Everton on a 14-month deal, scoring one goal in 15 appearances.
October 24 - Joins Blackburn on a free transfer, helping them to secure promotion to the Premiership.
2001: June - Wales fail to qualify for 2002 World Cup after winning just two of their last 12 games.
Scores two goals in 25 appearances as Rovers maintain their top-flight status and win the Worthington Cup and a place in Europe.
2002: May 13 - Told his contract will not be renewed by Blackburn and retires at the age of 38.
October 16 - Goals from Craig Bellamy and Simon Davies give Wales a 2-1 European Championship qualifying win against Italy at the Millennium Stadium.
2003: August 20 - Wales are beaten 1-0 by Serbia & Montenegro to give Italy hope of claiming top spot.
September 6 - Italy go top, beating Wales 4-0 with Filippo Inzaghi scoring a hat-trick.
September 10 - Wales guarantee themselves a play-off place after battling to a 1-1 draw with Finland. Hopes of qualifying automatically are gone.
November 20 - Wales beaten by Russia in Euro 2004 play-off but Hughes insists he wants to stay in charge.
2004: June 12 - Awarded OBE in Queen's birthday honours list.
August 18 - Wales beat Latvia 2-0 in a friendly. John Hartson and Craig Bellamy score late goals to extend Wales unbeaten record to five matches.
September 4 - Poor start to the World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-1 away draw against Azerbaijan.
September 8 - A late Robert Earnshaw strike earns Wales a point in a stormy 2-2 draw against Northern Ireland.
September 13 - Hughes insists he has "no plans" to give up Wales job, despite reported interest from managerless Blackburn.
September 14 - Hughes' representative, Dennis Roach, says that Hughes would be keen to speak with Blackburn about the vacancy.
"This is the kind of job that would interest him," said Roach.
September 15 - Named manager of Blackburn.
2004-05: Steers Blackburn to safety and to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where they lose to Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium.
2005-06: Blackburn finish sixth and qualify for the UEFA Cup.
2007: February 22 -Rovers bow out of the UEFA Cup after a defeat in the round of 32 to German side Bayer Leverkusen.
April 15: Blackburn reach the FA Cup semi-finals for a second time under Hughes, this time losing to eventual cup winners Chelsea.
July 28: Blackburn return to the UEFA Cup after beating Vetra 6-0 on aggregate in the Intertoto Cup.
October 4: Rovers are surprisingly beaten 3-2 on aggregate by Greek side Larissa in the UEFA Cup first round.
2008: May - Rovers finish seventh in the Premier League but miss out on European qualification.
June 2: Blackburn grant permission for Hughes to talk to Manchester City regarding the managerial vacancy at Eastlands.
June 4: Appointed as Manchester City manager on a three-year contract.
No comments:
Post a Comment