Pressure piled onto Mark Hughes.

The pressure has been well and truly piled onto Mark Hughes as Manchester City’s financial backers are demanding a top six finish next season. The news comes just days after Hughes was told he had a job for a long time at City, however the stakes have been raised by the new owners and Hughes will have to dance to the tune if he wants to stay where he is.

The theory is that taking into account where City are likely to finish this season and the players they are going to bring in then UEFA Cup football is the least acceptable scenario to satisfy the powers that be next year.

On the one hand the club are giving Hughes assurance that he is safe in his managerial position but on the other hand they are dropping subtle hints that he could be axed if he doesn’t fulfil their targets. This equipped with the news that the club are locked in negotiations with Stephen Ireland over a new contract gives Hughes one hell of a headache for the time being.

City chairman, Khaldoon Al-Mubarak said: “We are not going to splash money around because that formula doesn’t work. It needs to be done sustainably, with quality management, quality infrastructure and a quality manager. That’s what we are doing.”

It all sounds like we have heard it all before. When Caludio Ranieri found himself in charge of a Chelsea side with millions in the bank, thanks to a new Russian owner, he too was told his job was safe. A year later he had not made the strides that the club wanted and he was sacked quite harshly.

So it seems that however City want to dress this issue up, Hughes will have to do something special next season. The calibre of names that arrive at City this summer could be rather muted and hence stem the progression of the squad and success. These are all things Hughes will have to take into account but it probably wouldn’t surprise anyone if he was axed by January.

However, so far Hughes has done a pretty decent job in charge, he has managed to control Robinho’s ego from getting out of hand while making sure that the progression of youngsters through the club’s academy does not stop. Even if City have a rough start to the season then it would be a very risky decision to get rid of a boss who clearly has so much managerial potential. Another club would rapidly sign him up without a seconds notice.

The task is quite simple for Hughes to carry out. He just has to win more games and break through a whole host of clubs who have publicly stated their intent to break into Champions League football next season. This means there will be four or five other clubs trying to do what Hughes has been told he must do. This could make his life a lot more difficult and ultimately be the deciding feature in Hughes’ future.