Thaksin Shinawatra is not the only ambitious man at Eastlands. The Manchester Evening News report that Micah Richards wants City to spend, spend, spend and make sure that they are competing at the right end of the Premier League next season.

Manchester City fans will be delighted to read that the young defender is so keen on new signings, not least because it’s a strong signal that the versatile player is going to be around next season. However, he’s keen for the club to practise what they preach by drafting in a new haul of quality players to make sure they are super-strong in every department under Mark Hughes.

“With a new manager in place, I’m hoping we can get some new players in all positions to strengthen the squad and give it a right good go.

“Let’s hope we can get to the end of the campaign and say: `We had a good season’.

“We don’t want to be making excuses and saying: `We should have this, or we should have done that’.”

The 20-year-old added: “The defence has been a big strength of ours in recent years, and I hope we can keep that going.”

What does constitute a good season for Man City fans? Naturally a top half finish is the bare minimum - would the supporters be disappointed if there was no silverware next term? What about a Champions League place - surely a big old ask in Mark Hughes’ first season at the club?