It’s been the talk of the Premiership, Manchester City’s sacking of head coach Mark Hughes while formally hiring Roberto Mancini just hours later. But now Manchester City Chief Executive Gary Cook has come out publicly defending the actions of the club.
Via ESPN
Cook has been criticised for his performance when presenting Mancini in Monday’s press conference after he stated that contact had first been made with the former Inter Milan coach following a defeat to Tottenham on December 16. Mancini then revealed he had spoken with chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak a fortnight ago in a meeting that Cook claims was merely a “general discussion”.
City’s conduct in removing Hughes has been roundly scrutinised by the national press but Cook is adamant that those involved in negotiations had the club’s best interests at heart when sounding out Mancini in advance of informing the Welshman his services were no longer required following a 4-3 win over Sunderland at the weekend.
Indeed, Cook has revealed that possible alternatives to Hughes have been considered for some time as City were keen to have a contingency plan to support their lofty ambitions should a change in staff be required.
Cook told ESPN Soccernet: “It is important for the fans to appreciate the ambitions of this club and its owners. Before the season started we went about our business plan for the year meticulously. We did our scenario planning, mapping out the season, the results we were seeking and in those plans we looked at the options open to us if we were in a position when we needed to look for a new manager before Christmas.
“Even at that point we looked at the managers who could be available in a World Cup year, and those who might definitely be available.
“We had no intention of replacing Mark Hughes, but surely as a business we are entitled to examine all the options. We wanted a top-six finish within three years, but we accelerated those targets after such an enormous investment in new players. We were seeking 70 points for the season, and I think it was a touch circumspect of Mark to leave us saying he was on target for sixth place and 70 points. No club since 1995 had finished below fourth place with 70 points.
“We now have a new manager in Roberto Mancini and our ambitions are clear – we want to achieve Champions League football as quickly as we can.”
“Our main concern is the impact it has on our fans. The key message is that we do not have to apologise for our actions, we have nothing to apologise for, but we want to inform our fans of the facts, of the actions taken that affects those people, the fans, who have given their hearts and soul to their club.
“We feel that the club is being judged by a group of people in the media who do not have the club at heart or care about the club, or take the time to appreciate what this club is all about. The misinterpretation is that we said that the decision to sack Mark Hughes was taken after the Spurs game [on December 16]. It was in fact taken on the Thursday after that game. Roberto said he had a meeting on December 7 in London, but that was a general discussion and as we have said the decision to sack Mark Hughes was taken after the Spurs game.
“Roberto has been caught up in a language issue; in truth he has been shafted. From our point of view it is important that the fans know the facts and the way we have acted in the best interests of the club. We are livid that the media has taken a little information and misinterpreted it and that Roberto has been caught up in the crossfire.
“We feel that we have been falsely represented and in the interests of the club we are prepared to do something about it, and we are in the process of looking into it.”
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