Hughes: why Fergie didn’t see my potential

MARK HUGHES can understand why Alex Ferguson never identified him as a potential manager.

When Ferguson looked around his Manchester United dressing room in 1994, there were some who stood out as management material.

Bryan Robson, Paul Ince and Roy Keane for a start, then there was Steve Bruce, whose Sunderland side Manchester City face at Eastlands today looking to get their season back on track.

Hughes, a quiet and reserved figure in a team full of loud voices, never seemed suited to the manager’s hot-seat, but has gone on to prove his old mentor wrong over the past decade.

“It is 15 years ago,” Hughes said of Ferguson’s verdict. “There is a lot of change and development in me as a football person in that time.

“Sir Alex is basing his opinion on what he saw in me as a player. At that time he was probably right in saying he couldn’t see me as a manager. I would like to think I have changed and proved I am capable in that respect.

“Yes, there are certain players you think are more inclined to go into management. They are usually the ones who are loudest in the dressing room. But it doesn’t matter whether you shout and bawl, you have to say something of substance.”

According to Gareth Barry, there was a fair bit of shouting and bawling going on inside the visitors’ dressing room at White Hart Lane on Wednesday night as City came to terms with a 3-0 defeat against Tottenham.

And Hughes needs to get some big decisions right if a run of just one win in 10 games, which admittedly includes good points gained at Liverpool and Aston Villa, is notto turn into something which could prove terminal to his own job prospects.

Despite talk of a move for Guus Hiddink, which City insiders have tried to distance themselves from, there is still a belief Blues owner Sheikh Mansour and chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak remain committed to the Welshman.

However, a number of key players, specifically Robinho, Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure, are not coming close to justifying their massive reputations at present.

The same might also have been said about Joleon Lescott and Wayne Bridge before the pair succumbed to injuries that will rule them out of the Christmas programme, while some of the replacements do not look good enough.

The next couple of weeks will be critical in determining whether City retain a realistic hope of finishing in the top four and they badly need to beat a Sunderland side which has impressed in plenty of big matches this season before crumbling in recent weeks.

“Sunderland are a good team this year and they will be difficult opponents,” said Hughes. “They have a threat up front with Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones.

“Bent is playing really well. You are always a little bit apprehensive about what he is able to produce.

“They have invested in the team and they have bought well. As a consequence they are a better side this year than they have been for quite some time.

“Tomorrow’s game is going to be a big test for us.”