MARK HUGHES has admitted mistakes he made as Manchester City manager will ensure he establishes a productive working relationship with the Queens Park Rangers owners. The Welshman’s comments came as he revealed he had taken the QPR job despite not meeting the majority shareholder, Tony Fernandes, during the process of his hiring.
Hughes, who has met Fernandes in the past and who did have conference calls with the Malaysian businessman before accepting the post, was asked whether he had any concerns regarding the inexperience of the club’s owner.
“I’ve been there before, to be fair,” he said, referring to Thaksin Shinawatra and the Thai’s successor, Sheikh Mansour, who each became first-time owners of Premier League clubs when they bought City. Hughes was sacked by Mansour in December 2009.
“Maybe that experience will help me and I am sure it will,” he said. “In fairness probably I made mistakes with respect to the new owners last time. I understand that now. So I can learn from that and I am a better manager now than when I first went through that.”
Could he give an example? “The lines of communication and the different ways of management, that was a little bit difficult to navigate, but I’m happy with the structure here and I think that it will be more beneficial to me. The owners are passionate about what they are trying to do here and they are very accessible. I only have to pick up the phone or look at Twitter. That’s important – I have to build that relationship and make sure it’s strong. That’s what I will endeavour to do, to make sure we are all on the same page.”
Hughes said he was relaxed about Fernandes’s penchant for Twitter. “We will possibly have a discussion about it but I’m not in a position to say anything,” he said. “It’s great he engages with the fans and he has passion for the fans and the businesses he has around the world.”
A major reason why Warnock was sacked and replaced by Hughes was the QPR board’s belief the Welshman could attract what he described as “big players”. Although Hughes would not confirm specific targets he did admit Alex, the Chelsea defender, was of the ilk he hopes to sign.
GuardianService
