Hughes: We don’t have to finish in top four

MARK HUGHES has rejected the notion that Manchester City’s season will be regarded as a failure if they finish outside the top four.

After a short break in Abu Dhabi and a meeting with owner Sheikh Mansour, Hughes is now ready to get City’s season back on track again after five successive draws.

What has been dubbed a mini-slump by those who expect much better from a team put together at the not inconsiderable cost of £200 million (€224m) over the past three transfer windows, has left the Blues in sixth spot ahead of this weekend’s intriguing trip to Liverpool.

It is two places below the standard required for Champions League qualification, which has been put forward as the minimum target for Hughes to regard the campaign as a success.

But the Welshman refuses to be drawn in by such arbitrary goals. His wants improvement. And in that sense, the march is inexorable.

“With the resources we have, people are saying the top four is the minimum requirement. That is actually not the case,” said Hughes.

“The clubs you have to overcome to get there are not just the best teams in the Premier League, they are also some of the best teams in the world.

“That is the challenge for everybody. And it is very difficult.

“What we are looking for is progress and I would defy anyone to say we have not made progress from where we were last year.”

It is a source of pride for instance that City are the only top flight club not to have lost more than once.

Even that defeat, in the sixth minute of injury-time at Manchester United, was extremely unlucky.

“We have played 13 games in all competitions and we have been beaten once,” said Hughes.

“Ideally we would like to have changed some of those draws to wins but we have reached a consistent level that allows us to compete in every game. In terms of where we were last year and where we are now, it is a different place. I pleased with the progress we are making and that will continue. I am certain of it.”