Festive cheer: New boss Roberto Mancini seemed to
be enjoying his first Christmas in charge of Manchester
City
Manchester
City chief executive Garry Cook claimed
the approach to Roberto Mancini weeks before they sacked Mark
Hughes wasn't unusual, and said Liverpool had
also 'sounded out' the Italian about succeeding Rafa
Benitez.
Cook came under fire this week after it was revealed that club
owner Sheik Mansour had first met Mancini in early December to
discuss the Italian's availability should the manager's job at
Eastlands become vacant.
Despite claiming they had not decided to part company
with Hughes at that point, Cook insists the club were simply
following the normal process used by Premier League clubs.
He even went one step further by suggesting that Liverpool,
whose co-owner Tom Hicks talked to former Germany boss Jurgen
Klinsmann in November 2007 about taking over at Anfield, also met
former Inter Milan coach Mancini in the past.
'It is naive to think that clubs are not looking at their
options,' said Cook. 'Of course they are. Do we think that
Liverpool just talked to Klinsmann? I am sure they also spoke to
others, and I have no doubt Roberto Mancini was one of them. Of
course he would have been.
'The fact that Mancini met the owner on December 7 in London is
not the same as saying we had made up our minds then to sack Mark
Hughes. We decided to sack the manager after the Spurs defeat.
'The fact that conversations took place prior to that is what
lots of people do in football, and is part of what we do. But there
is nothing misleading about what we told the public, the fans and
the media in our press conference.'
Wrapped up: Robinho and Carlos Tevez are put
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Cook has been widely criticised for his handling of the
major issues throughout his time at City, including his accusation
that AC Milan 'bottled it' over the proposed move for Brazil star
Kaka in January and the shabby dismissal of Hughes at the
weekend.
He also revealed that Mancini was only one of several top
managers considered on a list of potential replacements for Hughes
but insists that is common practice among Europe's leading
clubs.
'We have been linked with Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Guus
Hiddink and Klinsmann, but I have never met any of them,' he
said.
'Any club looking at their managerial options would draw up a
list, and a club like ours would look at the best in the world, so
why wouldn't all the names mentioned, if they are indeed the best
in the world, be on our list?
'But it is totally unrealistic to think we could sign Arsene
Wenger, for example. He is far too loyal, and quite rightly so.
'We are fully aware Hiddink has made it known that in three
years' time he doesn't want to be in coaching, so it's a process of
fact-finding.'