Manchester City's big-spending days could be nearing an end, according to Mark Hughes. The Eastlands manager says he is happy with the business the club has done this summer, and while he does not rule out future additions to the squad in transfer windows to come, he does not expect spending on the same scale to be necessary.
City have splashed out £93m on Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Touré, Roque Santa Cruz and Gareth Barry, and seem certain to push their overall spending past £100m if they succeed in taking Joleon Lescott from Everton or turn elsewhere for a replacement. That level of outlay, Hughes said, not to mention player turnover, is unsustainable.
"We've done excellent business in this window and made huge strides in a short space of time," Hughes said. "It may take a few more windows before we can say we are one of the top teams in the Premier League, but I don't think we will be spending on this scale again. The players we've brought in this summer will sustain us. I'm sure we will be adding in future windows, but not buying on the scale we have this summer."
Putting a brave face on City's failure to tempt John Terry from Chelsea, Hughes said his side was not short on strong characters and natural leaders.
"We've got a very experienced squad now," Hughes said. "We made a list of all the individual honours within the squad and we've got Champions League winners, Premier League winners, FA Cup winners, top internationals. We've also got six or seven players who have captained their previous clubs, so they understand what it takes.
"We think within the group we have what we need to be successful. You have to know what it takes to win trophies, you have to be able to come back from situations, and there are individuals in this group who do and will come to the fore."
"The key in the Premier League is winning back to back, home and away, that can really make a difference. We've got to try and build that ability into our play. I fully expect us to be stronger as a group this season, but we're not kidding ourselves. We've raised our profile in the Premier League and everyone will be out to stop us. No one is going to step aside and let us through.
"Every Premier League manager is under pressure, it is pressure you bring on yourself. We aim to be one of the best prepared teams in the Premier League, and I'll back us against anybody. I've got more tools to do the job this season, we are in better shape than we were last year. We've added to the quality and you've got a better chance of winning games with better players.
"We're pleased with the business that we've done, the challenge is to be the best that we can be. We know we have to address our away form to have a successful season, and we've got the chance to do that on the first day. A nice, positive result at Blackburn would set the tone for all of our away games this season. It was patently obvious that our away form wasn't good enough last season.
"Not that it is ever easy at Blackburn. I would much rather be kicking off at home."
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