City appoint Hughes

Updated 15.54 Wed Jun 04 2008

Keywords: mark hughes, thaksin shinawatra, gary cook, blackburn rovers, sven-goran eriksson, manchester city, football, premier league, sport

Manchester City have appointed Mark Hughes as their new manager.

Hughes has signed a three-year contract to replace Sven-Goran Eriksson, who left the club earlier this week.

"In our view he is the brightest young manager in the game" - Garry Cook

City have agreed to pay compensation to Hughes's former club Blackburn Rovers.

City's executive chairman Garry Cook said: "I am delighted to welcome Mark on board. In our view he is the brightest young manager in the game and he was our number one target for the manager's job.

"He made it clear to us from the moment we met that he shared our vision and ambition to make Manchester City one of the top sides in the country.

"The club intends to invest in new players as well as securing the long term services of key members of the current first team squad. Mark has already identified some of the players and backroom staff that he wants to see here at City, and we will begin the process of recruiting them immediately."

Blackburn chairman John Williams has paid tribute to Hughes.

He said: "We have enjoyed a first-class, mutually beneficial relationship with Mark.

"He leaves the club in a strong position with three consecutive top 10 finishes and an excellent squad of players.

"In turn, we have helped Mark to establish himself as one of the most sought-after young British managers in the business, having previously had no club management experience.

"We wish him well. We would have liked him to stay on, but he made it clear he wanted a fresh challenge."