Scunthorpe boss Nigel Adkins maintains that the strength of the side Manchester City fielded against his team in last night's Carling Cup fourth round shows their desperate need to win silverware.

His side battled until the end, but had only a Jonathan Forte first-half goal to show for their efforts, before eventually losing 5-1.

City stormed into the last eight, and Adkins said: "Six of the top seven in the Premier League are in the quarter-finals now, and even the Carling Cup is becoming something of a closed shop for the big clubs.

"A club of City's size now must start winning silverware with all the money that has gone in. All the top clubs are chasing a limited number of trophies.

"They all want, need, to be in Europe and such runs brings in the finance to add better players still. Everyone takes this competition seriously now.

"When was the last time City won any silverware? A long while ago, so they know they have to change that now in the situation they are in."

City boss Mark Hughes was delighted with the display. Goals from Stephen Ireland, Roque Santa Cruz, Joleon Lescott, Carlos Tevez and Michael Johnson eventually overwhelmed Scunthorpe.

Hughes' boys were not to be denied. And the City manager said: "We have got virtually everyone back now, we have been able to rest players, and the injured ones will be back for the weekend.

"We have a full complement of riches now to chose from, and we are delighted with the positives from this one.

"We gave Santa Cruz his first game, and he was excellent. He got a fine goal and his movement and awareness of people around him was first class.

"He will now grow into his role here. And we had Michael Johnson finally back after his injuries. The goal he scored showed the quality he has, and thankfully he is back fit and well.

"You can then see the talent he has. He has been really missed and we now want him in the side more regularly. He'll be like a new signing, considering he's been out for over a year with various injuries."

He added: "You just need to look at the quality of sides left in the tournament to know that clubs are now taking it more seriously now.

"They are giving it more significance than they have done in the past. We made a statement right at the beginning that we would take it seriously and have a good run at it.

"We are now in the last eight with a lot of big clubs. We are in good shape, we are playing well and let's hope we get a good draw."