It’s clear that 9th-place won’t be good enough for Thaksin Shinawatra next season – Sven-Goran Eriksson found that to his cost. Quite simply, Mark Hughes knows he’s under pressure from the loveable ex-Thai prime minister, despite the latter speaking so highly of the Welshman after his appointment. Will Sparky deliver the goods? According to the BBC website, he’s certainly in a determined mood after taking over the reigns at Eastlands:

“The ambition of the club is to challenge at the top table – not only in this country but in Europe,” said ex-Manchester United striker Hughes.

“If we get the right players in right positions it is more than realistic.”

“If I’m successful here I don’t need any stepping stones,” said the 44-year-old.

Although Hughes has previously managed Wales in addition to Blackburn, he’s inexperienced as far as European club management is concerned, faring pretty poorly with Rovers on the occasions they have made it into the UEFA Cup. It will be interesting to see which new faces he brings in, and whether he can persuade the likes of Richard Dunne to stay.

Surely City can’t break into the top four anytime soon can they?

It’s hard to pick many holes in his managerial record, apart from the fact that he is relatively inexperienced having only managed Wales and Blackburn to date. It’s a question of whether he’s taken Rovers ‘as far as he could’, something which Mark Hughes is almost certain to say if indeed he is to be installed as the new manager at Eastlands.

The Press Association report that, while Sven has left the building and Richard Dunne looks almost certain to leave, one of the Manchester City fanzine editors is still predicting a bright future, especially if the Welshman takes charge. However, will many of the City squad only have signed for the club due to the Eriksson factor?

Dave Wallace, editor of the respected King of the Kippax fanzine, feels City are actually in a far healthier state than it initially appears.

“If you look at the fact we have a European campaign to build on, plus the young players and ones like Elano, Martin Petrov and Vedran Corluka, we have a lot to look forward to,” said Wallace.

“We should be in a position to kick on from here and hopefully Mark Hughes, if that is to be who we get, will do that.”

City fans, do you agree with the above sentiments or do you feel that Shinawatra has unnecessarily started rocking the boat after one season of ownership? If Hughes is going to become manager, he’ll have a tough job in motivating a set of players seemingly disillusioned by the boardroom antics of the past few weeks.

With Sven-Goran Eriksson dangling over the precipice at Eastlands, there has been no shortage of speculation surrounding who will be next Manchester City manager. Whoever takes charge may have to rebuild a squad to some extent, especially if Richard Dunne and Micah Richards are to leave the club in the summer.

The Times reports that Thaksin Shinawatra seems to have given up on Phil Scolari to be the next City manager and instead has gone after Zico, who currently manages Fenerbahce. There could be a real Brazilian theme materialising if this comes to fruition, with Elano already on the books and the Citizens in pole position to sign the highly-rated Jo.

City are highly confident of signing Jô, the 21-year-old Brazil forward, with their close links with Kia Joorabchian, his agent, establishing them as firm favourites ahead of Everton and Tottenham Hotspur. “City are front-runners for Jô by a distance,” Joorabchian said yesterday. “Once their managerial situation is resolved, we’re pretty sure the deal will get done.”

City fans must be scratching their head at the moment. It had been thought that last summer marked a transitional period between the old regime and the new one. However, Shinawatra seems to be bringing about more wholesale changes, for better or worse?

When the dust finally settles over at White Hart Lane, Tottenham manger Juande Ramos might want to think about sending a note to Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni, thanking him for scheduling a friendly against Colombia at Craven Cottage.

The Guardian is reporting that £5m Manchester City defender Richard Dunne made good use of the Ireland friendly by taking time out to host talks with Tottenham about becoming Jonathan Woodgate’s new best friend.

Dunne flew into London with the Republic of Ireland squad yesterday, played in the friendly against Colombia at Craven Cottage last night and is expected to have further talks with Spurs today.

Juande Ramos, the manager, has been unconvinced by Michael Dawson and Younes Kaboul, his young central defenders, and the concerns over Ledley King’s fitness are well documented. Ramos signed Jonathan Woodgate for £8m from Middlesbrough in January but wants a tough and experienced partner for him and Dunne fits the profile. (Guardian)

For a Tottenham team that is missing one critical defensive piece, Dunne looks to be the man they’ve been looking for this summer.

Do Tottenham supporters feel like Dunne is the piece that finally shores up a shoddy back line, or would Juande be better off looking elsewhere for a central defender?