Sunday Fulham Stuff (27.02.11)

[White Noise]

http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/231496/Mark-Hughes-Manchester-City-need-to-win-trophies-soon/

MARK HUGHES: MANCHESTER CITY NEED TO WIN TROPHIES SOON 


Mark Hughes takes Fulham to Eastlands today


Sunday February 27,2011


By Tony Paskin 


MARK HUGHES has warned old club Manchester City they must start winning trophies soon if they ever hope to overtake Manchester United.

The Fulham boss takes his side to Eastlands today, 14 months after he was sacked as City manager...  and was among the last to know.

Reports that Roberto Mancini was taking over leaked out at half-time during City's 4-3 win over Sunderland, but Hughes was not told until well after the final whistle.

"I think everybody there understood that I was taking the club in the right direction," he said.

"The key to City progressing and possibly overtaking United, if it is to happen, is to win trophies. They need to do so quickly to keep the momentum going."

Recalling his City exit, Hughes said: "I had a fair idea that something was likely to happen but I didn't know at the end of the (Sunderland) game. I waved to the crowd and everybody assumed I knew, but I  didn't."

Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/231496/Mark-Hughes-Manchester-City-need-to-win-trophies-soonMark-Hughes-Manchester-City-need-to-win-trophies-soon#ixzz1F8o41Z3g

[White Noise]

http://www.skysports.com/football/match_preview/0,19764,11065_3366074,00.html



Man City v Fulham preview

City keep sights on title; Hughes returns to old club


Last updated: 26th February 2011
   

Manchester City will aim to close the gap on their title rivals when they host Fulham at Eastlands on Sunday.

Roberto Mancini's men are currently third in the Premier League but eight points adrift of leaders and local adversaries Manchester United.

Their last outing in the league saw them go down 2-1 to their neighbours at Old Trafford, but they will be buoyed by more encouraging results in the FA Cup and Europa League that have followed.

City built on last weekend's 5-0 cup thrashing of Notts County with a 3-0 triumph over Aris Salonika in midweek, which booked them a spot in the Europa League last 16.

And the Blues' formidable record against Fulham is likely to give them added confidence ahead of the weekend, with the Cottagers having won just six times in 25 league visits to City.

Despite that statistic, Fulham's recent results at Eastlands have been impressive with three wins, three draws and just two defeats in eight trips to the Lancashire club.

Cottagers boss Mark Hughes will be fully focused on another upset as he returns to his former employers, where he was sacked in December 2009 and succeeded by Mancini.

The reverse fixture at Craven Cottage back in November saw City go home with a 4-1 victory under their belts, a result they will be hoping to emulate.

But Mancini's men have won just one of their last four league games, while Fulham are unbeaten in three, although they could still be stinging from their FA Cup exit at the hands of Bolton last weekend.

Doubt

Vincent Kompany is a major doubt for Sunday's encounter after limping out of the first half of the Aris clash with a hip injury.

Kolo Toure could come in as a direct replacement, although Jerome Boateng is also capable of filling the void. Micah Richards (calf), James Milner (hamstring), Nigel de Jong and Adam Johnson (both ankle) are all expected to miss out.

City will be without No.2 goalkeeper Shay Given after the Irishman was ruled out for the season with a shoulder problem earlier this week.

Bobby Zamora suffered a fresh injury blow on Friday and is doubtful to appear for Fulham.

The striker, who only returned from five months out with a broken leg in Sunday's FA Cup defeat to Bolton, went over on his ankle in training and faces a fitness test tomorrow.

Midfielder Steve Sidwell has been ruled out for four weeks after damaging knee ligaments, while Philippe Senderos and Diomansy Kamara will also miss Sunday's match with back problems.

Possible starting XIs:

Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, K Toure, Boateng, Kolarov, Silva, Barry, Wright-Phillips, Y Toure, Tevez, Dzeko.

Fulham: Schwarzer, Salcido, Hangeland, Hughes, Baird, Gera, Murphy, Etuhu, Dempsey, Johnson, Dembele.

[White Noise]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-city/8349571/Manchester-City-v-Fulham-learning-the-true-value-of-precious-David-Silva.html#


Manchester City v Fulham: learning the true value of precious David Silva

David Silva embodies the productive contradiction of this generation of Spanish footballers: they possess an almost superhuman mastery of space despite taking up so little of it.



Forward progress: after a tough start, David Silva has adapted superbly to English football Photo: REUTERS


By Duncan White, Football Correspondent 10:00PM GMT 26 Feb 2011

While Silva's eyes may be closer to the turf than most – he will cede the best part of a foot to Fulham's Brede Hangeland on Sunday afternoon — he intuits the fluid opening and closing of gaps in opposition defences as if he sees the action from above.

Silva's is not an ostentatious talent. It does not, unlike that of his predecessor Robinho, seek to preen itself with narcissistic step-overs.

Silva's game is sophisticated, sleekly efficient. And it only works holistically. When he was signed in the summer, it was assumed he would get torn limb from elfin limb in the Premier League but, if anything, it has been his team-mates who needed to adapt, trying to catch up with Silva's speed of thought and boot.

That muscular orthodoxy is being made to look old-fashioned by the likes of Luka Modric, Jack Wilshere and Silva.

Even though he played a peripheral role, Silva's involvement with Spain's World Cup victory meant he came to pre-season training late and with international friendlies in Mexico City in August and Buenos Aires he had little time to hone his fitness.

When City beat Fulham 4-1 in November, there were intimations of what a fresh Silva could do, as he wove together some exhilarating attacks.

Two weeks ago he was the outstanding creative player in the Manchester derby, proving, as he did for Valencia in Spain, that he relishes these kind of confrontations.

But for Wayne Rooney's spectacular winner, it was the kind of performance that could have received more analysis.

"I found it quite tough at the beginning," he said. "I wasn't in the right physical shape, not 100 per cent fit for the start of the season.

"That was down to missing the first part of pre-season after my late arrival after the World Cup. There were a couple of friendly internationals involving long journeys which also interrupted things so I didn't have the time to get fit.

"Since I've got to 100 per cent fitness-wise my form has started to come."

Silva has been working with Ryan Giggs' yoga instructor to ensure he remains flexible and does not become a victim of City's heavy fixture schedule. He is hungry to play every game and has dismissed reports, originating in the Spanish press, that he is pining for home.

Ian Brown once said that "Manchester has everything but a beach"; Silva's hometown has nothing but. He was born and raised in the fishing town of Arguineguín on the south coast of Gran Canaria, the son of a local policeman.

Despite having a population of fewer than 7,000 people, Silva is the second international class player to have come from the town, following the Deportivo la Coruña playmaker Juan Carlos Valerón.

"It's a paradise," he said. "The weather, the beaches, the food but especially the weather. You'd find anywhere you could to play football, so we'd play on the beach, on a hard surface, like asphalt and concrete.

"Grass? No way! Players from the island having a good touch, like Valeron."

Players like Barcelona's Pedro, from the Canary Island of Tenerife, or even Cristiano Ronaldo, who grew up on Madeira, lend credibility to the idea that playing on hard pitches and beaches refines the technique.

Silva also played a lot of futsal, a version of indoor five-a-side that rewards high levels of technique and improvisation, played on a small pitch and with a smaller, harder ball.

Ambition sharpened the edge of this talent and he left home for Valencia's academy at only 14. "I went to an ordinary school with local kids from the area," he said.

"Valencia put us up in halls of residence for people on their staff. Then when I was 16 my parents came over and we lived together. It made me more independent [moving at 14] and added to that at 16 or 17 I was put out on loan to Eibar in the Basque country and then Celta Vigo."

He points through the window of the Mancunian suite at Eastlands at the drizzle descending on the pitch. "Similar weather to here." If the idea was to toughen him up, it worked.

Silva is only 5ft 7in but is known in Spain as a prickly competitor. Luis Aragonés, the, ahem, eccentric former Spain coach, has said he had the "biggest cojones" of the squad that won Euro 2008.

At Valencia he flourished. He broke into the side in the 2006-07 season and quickly formed a productive partnership with David Villa. In the following four seasons Villa scored 101 goals, making 45 assists, with Silva scoring 29 from midfield, and creating 48 more.

Valencia were in trouble, however, having built up debts of €500million and with construction stalled on their new Mestalla stadium.

Europe's big clubs hovered as Valencia struggled to survive, hoping to pick off Silva and Villa on the cheap. Valencia held their nerve, however and, after two seasons of resistance, got value for their assets. Villa joined Barcelona for €4million, while City beat off the competition with a €24million fee for Silva.

He was signed to be the inventive bridge between midfield and attack, and as the season has progressed he has developed an encouraging understanding with Carlos Tévez.

"I was lucky to play with David Villa for four years and we did develop a good partnership but Carlos and I have had only six months," he said.

"We're on the right lines and we hope to improve. It was absolutely great that he decided to stay and it can only be a positive thing for us. He's a top, top player who brings all kinds of things to the team. He's got a tremendous character and spirit and it was very important that he stayed."

City are improving by conservative increments, with a spine of players running through the team of the perfect age to play at their peak together. Vincent Kompany (24), Yaya Touré (27), Silva (25), Tévez (27) and Edin Dzeko (24) are all of Champions League quality and Roberto Mancini will be trying to find a system that best blends their abilities.

"It's not easy, you get a lot of talented individuals but the team's got to come first," Silva said. "You've got to get a set-up where people are all part of the group which then can allow the individuals to express themselves within that and it's not easy.

"You can't really put your finger on a period of time. We're all trying to do that and gradually we are, we're getting success in terms of how we play and gel.

"Before the United game we were maybe competing for the title – it's not that we're not fighting for it now but it's been made a little bit more difficult now having lost that game.

"We're still involved in the Europa League and the FA Cup and we're not out of the title race yet so while there is hope we'll be fighting until the end."

[White Noise]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_6782736,00.html

Hughes lifts lid on City exit

Cottagers boss set for Eastlands return



Last updated: 26th February 2011   


Fulham manager Mark Hughes has lifted the lid on his departure from Manchester City 14 months ago.

Hughes returns to Eastlands on Sunday for the first time since he was controversially sacked and replaced by Roberto Mancini, as the Cottagers take on City in the Premier League.

Reports of Mancini's appointment as his successor emerged at half-time of City's 4-3 victory against Sunderland and the Welshman even saluted the four corners of the City of Manchester Stadium.

However, he reveals he was not informed of the decision to replace him until 15 minutes after the final whistle.

"I had a fair idea that something was afoot and something was likely to happen, but I didn't actually know at the end of the game," Hughes said.

"I waved to the crowd and everybody assumed I knew, but I didn't.

"Maybe I was just covering all eventualities and was proved right in the end. I found out about a quarter of an hour later."

Asked if he would be avoiding the boardroom when he returned, Hughes added: "You'd be correct.

"I'm there to do a job and I'd love to come away from there having seen my team play exceptionally well and win the game.

Nothing to prove
"I don't think I have anything to prove, to be perfectly honest, because I think everybody there understood that I was taking the club in the right direction, the direction it need to be.

"But they wanted to get there quicker, and with a different profile, and maybe that's the reason I lost my job."

It remains to be seen what reception Hughes receives at Eastlands but the Fulham boss is hoping for a warm one.

He remarked: "Many Man City fans have come up to me since I left and said they were disappointed with the way I was taken out of the club, and that I was hard done by.

"I think the vast majority of them felt that way and I appreciated the fact that some have taken the time to say that to me."

[White Noise]

http://hammyend.com/index.php/2011/02/next-up-man-city-a/

Next up: Man City (a)

by Tor on February 26, 2011

It's the return of Scarfy v Sparky but I have good news and bad news...

First, the bad news. The warm weather training in Portugal during the early part of the week may not have been as successful as intended. Steve Sidwell will be out for around 4 weeks after suffering knee ligament damage, and Bobby Zamora turned on his ankle (not his broken one) and is a doubt for tomorrow. Diomansy Kamara and Philippe Senderos are both potentially out with back problems too. Then to top it off, there are reports of the plane back from the Iberian peninsula having to make an emergency landing which is probably a little nerve-wrecking if you're on it at the time.

Mr Mancini also has a few injury concerns (perhaps this should go in the good news section) but as many multi-million pound strikers to choose from as he likes. Well, as long as they're called Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli or Edin Dzeko. Plus Edin Dzeko's found his light-blue-and-white scoring boots. Not in the Barclays Premier League yet, but he scored twice in 5 minutes during Thursday's Europa League (*sighs*) match so it's only a matter of time. Their injury list currently includes Shay Given, who would more than likely have been on the bench what with Joe Hart being a bit good, James Milner, Nigel de Jong, Boyata and Michah Richards (thanks to commenter Billy below for pointing out the inadequacy of my earlier research).

And they utterly spanked us at Craven Cottage in the reverse fixture earlier this season.

Want the good news now?

We ROCK at Eastlands. In the last three league meetings, we've nabbed 7 points. In the Carling Cup last season it took until 9 minutes from the end of extra time (yeah, that again) for them to beat us.

We've possibly got Dickson Etuhu and Damien Duff back from injury to join Captain Dan and top-scorer Dempsey which should make for a nice strong midfield. We've no injury concerns in defence (Senderos aside, but honestly, do we expect to see him anytime soon?) and Dembele and Johnson should both be fit. Now that we're back to the bread-and-butter of league football we can ignore any cup-tied nonsense and throw Gael Kakuta and/or Eidur Gudjohnsen on to shake things up a bit. And boy, can that Kakuta shake things up a bit. Remember Aston Villa? I think we may need him this weekend.

We (well, the players) have had a nice few days in sunny Portugal and not much else. Our opponents had to stay in Manchester and play Aris Salonika so possibly aren't the freshest they've ever been. Mancini opted to play a full-strength team too so we'll either see some changes to their line-up or some tired legs. A bit of both would be quite nice.

In conclusion, it could go either way. How do you like that for analysis? To be honest, it very much depends on which Fulham turns up on the coach tomorrow. Will it be the Fulham who played so valiantly against Chelsea two weeks ago or defied Stoke's physicality to beat them 0-2 at the Britannia? Or will it be the pretenders that showed up for the first half against Bolton last week, and that rolled over and let Man City stomp all over us on our turf back in November?

Predictions then? Lawro's going for 2-0, Phillips Idowu for 2-1 and FourFourTwo for a bore draw. It won't be boring. Our games against Man City rarely are. The last 0-0 draw was 7 years ago. I'm unsure as to whether that's a good thing or a bad thing...

Sod it. I'm going for 2-2. What say you?

PS I forgot my lucky earrings last Sunday so apologies. Still, Wemberlee's overrated, right?

PPS I've edited this post since the comments below. Will try harder next time, profuse apologies.

[White Noise]

http://www.givemefootball.com/premier-league/hughes-wants-result-after-break

Hughes wants result after break


By PA Sport  February 26, 2011


Mark Hughes admits his players must make amends for their 4-1 thrashing by Manchester City when the sides meet tomorrow to prevent this week's trip to Portugal being branded "a jolly".

Hughes took his side on a four-day mid-season training camp in a bid to kick-start a late surge up the Barclays Premier League table. Hughes is confident the camp will ultimately pay dividends but knows another heavy defeat against his former club on Sunday will raise questions about its value.

"You go for a break and the reasons for doing it are correct," he said.

"But if you get beaten then people think you've been on a jolly. That's always the danger.

"We are hoping to get the right reactions. It was good for the guys to get together.

"They have never been taken away and, as a consequence, they really enjoyed it.

"I think the staff had a few beers. I don't know about the players!

"Some of the guys had games of golf. Others went on boat trips and caught squid and other different types of fish.

"That wasn't something that appealed to me, I have to say, bobbing up and down on the Atlantic.

"But it was a good break. I really enjoyed it."

[White Noise]

Hughes: I was sacked 15mins after City won


Published 23:00 26/02/11



By Gerry Cox



Mark Hughes returns to Manchester City with just one aim today – revenge.

The Fulham manager takes his side to Eastlands 14 months after that fateful day in ­December 2009 when he was among the last to know that he had been sacked as boss of City.

What's more, he only found out he had been axed 15 minutes after the final whistle.

Reports that Roberto ­Mancini was taking over leaked out at half-time during the 4-3 win over ­Sunderland.

But Hughes revealed: "I had an idea that something was afoot, but I didn't know at the end of the game – I found out a quarter of an hour later!

"I waved to the crowd and everybody assumed I knew, but I didn't. Maybe I was just covering all eventualities – I was proved right in the end."

While he says he has moved on and is not bitter, he says City fans still tell him he was doing the right thing and was badly treated by the club.

Hughes added: "Many City fans have come up to me since I left and said they were disappointed with the way I was taken out of the club ­­– that I was hard done by.

"The vast majority felt that way and knew the size of the job, that I was trying to take the club ­forward under difficult ­circumstances. I tried to make them ­really ­successful, and the fans understand that."

He has not been back to ­Eastlands since, even on scouting missions.

He said: "I've moved on.

"This is the first time since leaving the club that I will have gone back. I didn't think it was right to do that and didn't feel comfortable.

"Now it is probably the right time to do it – maybe there was too much emotion surrounding it before."

Despite City's top four standing, he says they need to win a trophy soon if they are to push the other big clubs, especially Manchester United, where he won so many honours as a player.

Hughes added: "The big advantage United have at the moment is the experience of winning trophies.

"When I was at United we hadn't won a league title in 26 years, but as soon as we did, then ­winning the others became easier. It helped a lot in what came after that.

"The key to City progressing and possibly overtaking United, if it is going to ­happen, is they need to win trophies and quickly to keep the momentum going."



Read more: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Former-Manchester-City-boss-Mark-Hughes-reveals-he-was-sacked-15minutes-after-beating-Sunderland-4-3-article707367.html#ixzz1F8sHLB8J

[White Noise]

http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/02/26/man-city-v-fulham-preview-mark-hughes-is-a-man-on-a-mission-at/


Man City v Fulham Preview: Mark Hughes is a Man on a Mission at Former Club


26/2/2011 5:00 AM GMT



By Darren Witcoop


PREMIER LEAGUE: EASTLANDS, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011. KICK OFF: 1500 GMT

Fourteen months on from his acrimonious exit from Manchester City, Mark Hughes makes his first return to Eastlands - and how he would love to get one over his former employers.

But Hughes, now in charge of Fulham, will need more than just extra motivation if he wants to exact revenge and prove a point.

Having coming a come a cropper last November when his old side showed no mercy in their 4-1 rout of Fulham, he will need a slice of luck on his side this time.

Why? Because Manchester City are scoring goals for fun at the moment, especially on home soil.

Not a statistic you thought you'd ever see under the guidance of Hughes's successor Roberto Mancini and his largely defensive mindset.

Yet, despite the goals, their form has not been too spectacular of late, managing only four points from as many games during a hectic period.

Now it's back to the bread and butter of the league where league positions suggest Fulham should be seen off with ease.

But with Fulham having picked up seven points from their last three visits here, coupled with Hughes's return, don't expect this to be a cakewalk.

Key Match-up: Carlos Tevez v Brede Hangeland: Tevez was too hot to handle when these two sides met earlier this season. The Argentine striker scored twice and had the beating of the Fulham defence last September. Hangeland will no doubt have his hands full again, although he and will be desperate to do a better job this time around.

Form Guide: Despite their success in the cup competitions, just one win from their last four league games suggests Manchester City's title push is over. They will be desperate to get back on track against a Fulham side who have lost just one of their last seven games to ease their relegation fears.

Odds: Manchester City 4/9, Fulham 6/1, Draw 3/1

MANCHESTER CITY:

Mancini admits the heavy backlog of games is threatening to turn his jaded Manchester City players into wrecks amid burn-out fears.

Manchester City are fighting on three fronts for the Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup and the manager says fatigue could now be a major problem.

"Every two or three days we play and it's impossible," he said. "In my life I have never seen this. We arrive in February and March playing every two days.

"I have never known this in my career. It is not just us, of course, but it's impossible. Something must be changed.

"Every time England reach the World Cup or European Championship there is a big problem because all the players are tired.

"We are not machines, we are humans. It is very difficult for us to play all these games and if we draw against Aston Villa in the FA Cup next week then we have a really big problem."

The Italian coach believes Hughes deserves to earn a good reception on his return to his old stomping ground.He added: "Mark Hughes was City manager for two years. He did a good job here so I hope he is well received."

Strategy: Having struggled to score at Eastlands all season, it is suddenly raining goals, with 19 coming in their last five game at home. City appear to found the formula that had been missing for so long on their home patch this season.

Injury Update: Vincent Kompany (hip) faces a race to be fit. James Milner (hamstring) and Micah Richards (calf) should both be fit. But Nigel de Jong is struggling to overcome an ankle injury and Shay Given is out.

FULHAM:

Hughes insists there is no bitterness towards City, although admitted he felt the targets for the club shifted in the season he was dismissed.

"The targets I set at the time and the club set for me was top six," he said. "And certainly, I had no doubt in my mind that we'd've done that that year.

"The idea was always, two seasons down the line, that the club would be challenging at the top end of the Premier League.

"That was always the intention. That's what they're doing at the moment. So, it's going to plan you'd have to say.

"Obviously, whether they wanted more than they have at the moment, that's for other people to decide. Certainly, I felt I was on track for the targets I was set.

"Unbeknown to me, I think that maybe the targets were moved and shifted and maybe the progress that they wanted was accelerated. That's my take on it. Other people closer to City may have a different view on it."

Hughes also defended his transfer record at City, suggesting his purchases are still central to the club's progress.

He added: "At the end of the day, the players that were at the club when I first joined weren't going to take City to the level where they wanted to be at the end of the first and second season.

"So we had to very quickly move in the market and bring in better players and stronger players, and that's what we did.

"If you look at the City side now, I would suggest some of their main performers and stronges are the likes of Vincent Kompany, Nigel de Jong and Carlos Tevez. They've had a huge impact for City."

Strategy: Hughes sets his team up the same way home and away, so they will play an open 4-4-1-1 system with Clint Dempsey offering the forwards support from the left wing.

Injury Update: Bobby Zamora went over on his ankle in training, Philippe Senderos and Diomansy Kamara have back problems and Steve Sidwell has picked up a knee complaint.

[White Noise]

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2011/02/27/2371057/fulham-boss-mark-hughes-im-a-british-manager-and-would-never-say-



Fulham boss Mark Hughes: I'm a British manager and would never say no to England

Sparky ready for new international role

By Matthew Woodward


27 Feb 2011 09:07:00


Fulham boss Mark Hughes has stated that he would never turn down the opportunity to replace England manager Fabio Capello, as it is "one of the top jobs in world football".

Hughes will return to Eastlands on Sunday for the first time since being sacked by Manchester City back in 2009, but is looking for a position much higher than the one he previously occupied with the Citizens.

The 47-year-old claimed that nobody would question him for taking the helm of another international team such as Spain or France, and argues why it should be any different with the soon-to-be available England role.

"I'm a professional football manager and the England manager's job is one of the top jobs in world football," said Welshman Hughes, according to The News of the World.

"Would I have any qualms about taking Italy or Spain if it was presented? No.

"So why would I have a problem taking the England job if it was offered to me? I wouldn't.

"To be a manager you need longevity and those jobs present themselves from time to time.

"I've managed Wales, but that wouldn't stop me taking another job with an international team. I'm a British manager."

Despite being open to the role, Hughes admits that Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is most likely to land the job.

"Harry Redknapp's had success in the Champions League so everyone understands that if England make a change then it's probably going to be Harry and he will deserve it."

Fulham's boss enjoyed a five-year stint with the Wales national team from 1999-2004, and so nearly secured them a place in the 2004 European Championships in Portugal.

He led them to victory over giants Italy in the group stages, but lost out to Russia in qualifying for the final tournament.

"We came up against Italy in the qualifiers and Giovanni Trapattoni was their manager so it would have been easy to think we would be out of our depth.

"A lot of people might see international football as a pension, but for me it was an opportunity to prove I could prepare teams.

"At that level you have to be sharp, focused and tactically astute because otherwise you will be 3-0 down within 15 minutes."

The FA have openly discussed their desire for the next England manager to be English, but the former Manchester United and Chelsea striker would be a near-fit as a British citizen.

However, Hughes believes that people wrongly judge managers based on the number of trophies they win, and claims it is more difficult than ever to win silverware in the Premier League.

"People judge managers on whether they have won a trophy, but I work in a league where it's difficult to do that.

"The Premier League is difficult, challenging and competitive, but I can still prepare a team to compete tactically.

"A lot of foreign managers don't understand the intensity and the demands of English football.

"If British managers are to be judged on the amount of trophies they have won then it's not going to be a very impressive list because they don't get the top jobs.

"The fans, media and chairmen have to understand there are good British managers getting results against the top teams in the Premier League week in, week out.

"It doesn't seem to register that we are up against Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United and Manchester City - some of the best teams in Europe.

"When I watch the early rounds of the Champions League there are teams playing who aren't as good as my Fulham team.

"It's only in the latter stages the quality improves and that's when it becomes the best club competition in the world."

The ex-Manchester City boss will return to Eastlands today with his new club Fulham, and stresses that he has nothing to prove to his former employers.

"Initially what happened at City [his sacking] was raw and it affected my ability to watch football matches.

"It wasn't my club but it was my job and it had been taken away, I was only passing through as far as they were concerned and they have moved on.

"I'm not beating myself up about it, the players were strong for me and they showed a lot of leadership.

"This is the first time I have been back, but I will walk through the door with my head held high.

"I can look people in the eye but I'm not so sure others will be able to do the same to me.

"I will walk down the corridors, but a few people might see me coming and decide to jump into a side office."

[gang]

Well Mark at least we can guarantee that if we win you won't be sacked 15 minutes later. Good luck to the boys today.