Goodness me, we know who Mark Hughes’ biggest fan is (and it’s not Mrs Hughes). It appears that Manchester City owner only has eyes for the Welshman as the club get ever closer to snaring him from Blackburn Rovers. The Daily Mail report that the former Thailand prime minister is chuffed to bits that they’ve landed Sparky as their manager, despite previously chasing after Phil Scolari to be Sven-Goran Eriksson’s replacement.
“He’s an outstanding manager who has achieved many things with Blackburn,” Thaksin told Sportsmail last night. “Mark was always the first choice of our new executive chairman, Garry Cook. Together they will make a great team. They will both prove to be excellent acquisitions, I’m sure.
“These are exciting times for Manchester City and I hope the supporters can understand that I share their goals.
“That sometimes means making ruthless decisions. Now we can go forward to a new era, with a new management structure and great hope and ambition.”
Until next summer that is, when Hughes is cruelly axed after taking the club to an eight-placed finish and a semi-final place in the FA Cup. Although it’s always hard to know what goes on behind the scenes, Shinawatra is misguided if he thinks that his new manager can guide City to a top-four finish next season or the season after. To believe this can happen shows a massive amount of naivety on his part.