Saturday 29 November 2008
Manchester City Boss Said : Sir Alex Is The Best !
Sir Alex Ferguson is one of British football's greatest managers. Two Champions League triumphs and 10 Premier League titles in 22 years at Manchester United testify to that. Throw in a few cups and some significant success with Aberdeen in Scotland before he arrived at Old Trafford and you have a roll of honour that very few current managers can match.
Compared with a man with that record, Ferguson's opponent tomorrow in the Manchester derby, City boss Mark Hughes, is a novice. An ambitious novice, however, who is ready to start building the foundations for a similar level of success at Eastlands.
He acknowledges, though, that Ferguson's record would be almost impossible to surpass, which is a charitable reaction to his rival's claims earlier this week that City carry no threat in this season's Premier League title race.
"Sir Alex is there for everybody to aspire to. His record is exceptional and will never be beaten," said Hughes today.
"Everybody acknowledges that, because managers don't get the time to succeed now that they had when he was starting his managerial career. The respect that every Premier League manager has for Sir Alex is without question.
"Sir Alex is the best. He's not only been able to have sustained success, but he's built a football club as well. That's what I'm trying to do here. If I'm here long enough to do it, then I've got the record of Sir Alex to aspire to, but it will never be surpassed."
Hughes, of course, experienced first-hand how Ferguson works when he played for the Scotsman back in the late '80s and early '90s.
And despite his United connections, Hughes is adamant that City are at the beginnings of a successful period in the club's history.
"It's early days for us. You look at United, they've had huge investment for 20-odd years, we've had it for about 10 hours.
"There's a huge difference. We're very early in our development. It's not going to happen overnight.
"It's a huge project here, not only on the field but also behind the scenes. There are going to be massive changes to this club. And the focus that is on us is a little bit unfair, because we're very early in our progression."
Very modest claims, but backed up by the steely ambition that Hughes always displayed in his playing days.
"But make no bones about it, we're going in the right direction, and it's a really exciting time to be here," the Welshman added.
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