What they are saying about Mark Hughes’s departure

After all the speculation over his future at Eastlands the guillotine finally fell on Mark Hughes on Saturday. He was fired by owner Sheikh Mansour despite a 4-3 win over Sunderland that leaves Manchester City in sixth place in the table.

But that was not the end of the story. The outgoing boss was none too impressed with the way he was treated and the players thought the same, and several of them confronted the owners over the decision.

There has been widespread criticism of City chief executive Garry Cook and his assistant, former Arsenal player, Brian Marwood for their role in the sacking.

It has also been reported that Hughes will get a £3m pay off, and that new man Roberto Mancini was not the first choice to replace him.

There are claims that Rafa Benitez, Guus Hiddink were sounded out, and in the long term City want Arsene Wenger as their boss.

After being handed an apparently unlimited budget Hughes went to the sales. He spent more than £240m on players inluding Robinho, Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Joleon Lescott, Roque Santa Cruz, Craig Bellamy and Shay Given, but had not eradicated City's tendency to throw away leads.

However, City were on course to reach their target of winning a trophy and finishing in the top six - although it would appear that those goals have been upgraded.

Incoming boss Mancini, whose experience of English football consists of four games for Leicester City in the 1990s, now has the task of winning over the players who were loyal to Hughes and gatecrashing the top four.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:Richard Williams, Guardian: "Although Manchester City started the season with an agreement between owner and manager that sixth place would be an acceptable reward for the season, the apparent disintegration of the established top four has convinced Sheikh Mansour and his advisers that an expensively assembled squad should be aiming for a Champions League slot."

Oliver Kay, Times:  "From the outside, even when aware of his troubles in dealing with characters such as Robinho and Emmanuel Adebayor, it looks like a board hitting the panic button. So too, alarmingly, does the appointment of Roberto Mancini, the personal choice of Khaldoon al-Mubarak, the chairman."

Matt Lawton, Mail: "[To dominate Europe] you need a bit of class, a bit of style. But the manner in which Hughes was dismissed, indeed the manner in which Garry] Cook has conducted himself since moving from Nike to the City of Manchester Stadium 19 months ago, would suggest he is seriously lacking in such qualities.

Jason Burt, Telegraph: "Mancini, who has been set the target of a top-four finish this season, is under added pressure because the ultimate target of Cook and City’s football administrator, Brian Marwood, is eventually to bring in Arsène Wenger as manager." ·