City to enhance youth set-up

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Under coach Jim Cassell, City's academy has become the benchmark for the Premier League as well over 20 first-teamers have emerged through the Blues ranks in recent years, including Shaun Wright-Phillips, who rejoined the Eastlands outfit having been sold to Chelsea for £21million last month.

"The youth policy still has a role to play," he stressed. "It is important for any successful team to have a group of players who have an empathy for the club. We have that with the guys who have come through the academy."

There have been fears that a mammoth influx of cash from Abu Dhabi-based business tycoons, the United Group for Development and Investment, will block the route to senior status for City's homegrown stars.

Hughes denies his intention is to pack the City side with overseas imports. However, he does accept the demands for improvement on what the City academy has already achieved.

He added: "We are not just going to fill the squad as a token gesture to the work the academy does.

"The quality of players has to be sufficient to play in the Premier League. That is what their work is judged on."

While the most obvious example of the extra finance on offer was City smashing the British transfer record to sign Robinho from Real Madrid last week, Hughes has some good news for Cassell and his dedicated team.

"The work within the academy will continue," he said. "What we have now are the means to enhance that operation.

"The academy has been extremely successful in recent years. With extra funds it can produce even better players."