SHAUN OF NEW ERA FOR CITY HOTSHOTS
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Robinho and Wright-Phillips during their 6-0 win over Portsmouth on Sunday.
MARK HUGHES believes his summer signings Robinho and Shaun Wright-Phillips have silenced the sceptics just as successfully as they have revitalised Manchester City.
After his hoped-for move to Chelsea fell through at the last minute, Robinho was accused of using City as a convenient route to escape his nightmare at Real Madrid. At the same time, Wright-Phillips was ignoring the “never-go-back” warnings about returning to his first club following an ill-fated spell at Stamford Bridge.
But Hughes says the opportunity to play regular first-team football in front of a crowd crying out for heroes has helped both players rediscover not only their best form, but also their zest for football. Robinho has scored two goals in his first two Premier League games and dazzled team-mates and fans with his skill, while colleague Wright-Phillips has netted three in his first three league games and is playing with the confidence and energy that were the hallmarks of his first spell at the club.
Hughes admits that he detected apprehension from Robinho when the Brazilian first arrived but says he has quickly realised both the ambitions and potential of a club who are now effectively the richest in the world, following the £210 million takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group.
“I don’t think it was simply a case of City being convenient,” said Hughes. “The move happened very quickly but the key to it was that he was determined to leave Real Madrid. “Our sales pitch to him was, ‘This is where we need to go and we are going to bring in good players. We already have good players at our club and they will help you to perform to a high standard’.“Initially he showed signs of being apprehensive about the situation he found himself in, but he has had great support from his Brazilian colleagues, Elano, Jo and Glauber Berti. That early apprehension went very quickly. We have seen, just as quickly, that the guy simply has a love of football. You can see that in his performances. He just wants to play, week-in, week-out.
“At Madrid, he wanted to play every week and felt he wasn’t getting that chance. Maybe he felt he wasn’t going to be as loved as he will be here.” And Hughes revealed that Robinho won over his new team-mates with a dazzling display of his ball skills before his debut against Chelsea. “He was doing tricks with the ball in the dressing room and all the guys were applauding him. So straightaway he won them over,” said Hughes.Robinho’s arrival has also had a positive knock-on effect on others, with Stephen Ireland an example of a player who has raised his performance level. Hughes said: “Good Premier League players look at top players coming into their club and view it as a challenge. Players are quickly looking to see if another player is as good as people say he is.
“And players are responding. Look at how well Stephen Ireland is playing. He has been exceptional since I came here. He has been arguably our best performer. We have raised the bar and set a high standard and we’ll maintain it with the work ethic we have.”
Hughes described Wright-Phillips’ energetic performance in the 6-0 win over Portsmouth as “excellent” and added: “Shaun has come back to the club a better player. He is older, wiser and more experienced – and he’s loving his football again.”
But after their biggest Premier League win, Hughes warned his players to keep their feet on the ground for tomorrow’s Carling Cup second-round trip to Brighton – with Robinho rested for the game.
Hughes, meanwhile, has been told by City’s new owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who will formally complete his takeover today, that he will have the final say on transfers.
Sheikh Mansour said: “We consider Mark Hughes to be one of the prime assets of the club. We will back his judgment on what players to bring in.”