Mark Hughes today claimed Chelsea had no chance of luring him to Stamford Bridge once Manchester City had approached him to be their next manager.

The Welshman was unveiled as the new boss at Eastlands after being touted as a possible successor to Avram Grant at Chelsea.

He was the leading British candidate for the Blues vacancy and the popular choice among many supporters, but insists he would not have entertained any late bid by Chelsea to hijack his City switch.

Hughes said: "Once Manchester City made their intentions known I was very focused on getting the opportunity to come to the club.

"I had the opportunity to speak to Garry [Cook, executive chairman] and members of the board, and it's been very quick and very clear to me that there is a huge project here that I want to be part of, so it was an easy decision."

Hughes, who has signed a three-year deal worth £9million, is expected to be handed a hefty transfer budget to improve City's squad this summer.

Brazilians Jo and Ronaldinho have both been linked to the club and Hughes did little to dampen the speculation about high-profile signings.

He said: "There's a lot of talk about the quality of players that can come here. If they're available at the right price I will be interested."

Having led former club Blackburn to three consecutive top-10 finishes, Hughes has set his sights on Europe and silverware with City. He said: "I had a fantastic time at Blackburn. It was difficult on occasions with the amount of finance available - I knew the limit to how far I could take the club and it's a case now that I'm at club that can match my ambitions.

"My ambition is to take the club forward - I've been at a club that has had three top 10 finishes and three cup semi-finals and I want to move on from that and start winning trophies. The ambition of the club is to challenge at the top table - not only in this country but in Europe."

Hughes believes he will handle the pressure to succeed at City. He added: "Every Premier League manager is under pressure. It doesn't faze me - it's something you have to work with and you have to thrive on it."