Manchester City Football Club

• Nickname:Sky Blues
• Founded:1887
• Manager:Roberto Mancini

• Ground:City of Manchester Stadium
• Capacity:47805

Hughes planning big changes

18 Mar 2009 - 09:11:04

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Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has revealed that he plans to make sweeping changes to his squad in the summer.

However, he insists that Brazil international Robinho remains a key figure in his long-term plans.

Hughes told The Guardian: "When I first got the job I thought the squad was imbalanced. I think it's better now, but there are some issues we have to address.

"Although we've bought players in, we haven't shed a great deal. We'll have to do that because we have to have a manageable squad.

"Ideally, you'd want 23 or 24 and then have academy players of sufficient quality to back them up.

"If you have more than 25 it's difficult to have a meaningful training session and I've never been a manager to tell players that because they aren't involved, they can train in the corner with the reserves.

"Robinho is a key player and to say he that he isn't in our long-term plans is simply to be mischievous. He's a great player and he wants to be successful."