Source: SKY_Sports
Given - City not built in a day
Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given has reminded critics that the club are a work in progress.
City boss Mark Hughes has come under pressure of late after successive 3-1 defeats to Hamburg in the Uefa Cup and then Fulham in the Premier League.
Expectations at Eastlands are sky-high, following Sheikh Mansour's takeover of the club last summer, but Given is keen to stress that the
club have embarked on a long-term project.
The Irishman said: "In years to come I think this will be a great club to be involved with. But Rome was not built in a day.
"People automatically feel we are a top-six team because we are one of the richest clubs in the world.
"They are comparing us to Chelsea when Roman Abramovich took over but they were already a top four side who just added more quality to make them champions.
"It is going to take us longer. Everybody is impatient and want us to be there yesterday but we have got to put the building blocks in place."
Given also expressed his hope that his former club Newcastle United, where he spent 12 years, avoid relegation under short-term manager Alan Shearer.
"He [Shearer] should have been brought in earlier to try and get some results," said Given.
"It would be a real tragedy if they got relegated but it is getting very close to the wire. The games are running out and the results are not going
so well.
"Please God Alan can keep them up and they can start to invest more in the team and have a stronger squad."
Meanwhile, defender Micah Richards will not be charged over an alleged assault outside a nightclub on 24th December 2008.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "The Crown Prosecution Service have confirmed that no further action is to be taken."
