Man City chief defends manner of Hughes sacking

Manchester City chief executive Garry Cook has defended the way Mark Hughes was replaced as manager by Roberto Mancini.

Hughes's 18-month spell at the club came to a brutal end when he was sacked after the 4-3 victory over Sunderland, with former Inter Milan coach Mancini immediately named as his successor.

"It seems to me there is an overwhelming theory there is a conspiracy," Cook told reporters on Monday.

"The owner, the board, the management team, made a decision, we moved quickly as was expected and like any other business we had a plan and we moved to work on that plan," he added.

Cook has been criticised for the way the sacking was handled and was only due to read a pre-written statement on the matter when Italian Mancini was introduced at a news conference on Monday.

While City's statement said the club opened talks with Mancini on Thursday, the Italian indicated he had met chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak two weeks before and Cook was drawn into a verbal response.

"Two weeks ago Roberto met Khaldoon al Mubarak in London and after the Spurs game, he was contacted for further discussions on a more serious nature," said the chief executive.

"The discussions in London were general, they were about football and they were considering managerial options at that point.

"There are no conspiracy theories, we are working hard every day to make this a successful football club. We need to draw a line and move on to the future," added Cook.

He was also asked whether Hughes should have been sacked before the Sunderland match.

"The decision was made on Thursday, the chairman had to jump on an aeroplane because he was adamant not to make a phone call, send a fax or a text or an email and he wanted to do it in person," Cook said.

Quizzed on whether he had met the chairman, Mancini added: "Yes, two weeks ago in London. I met Khaldoon two weeks ago. He's a fantastic man and the other men that work in the club are fantastic."

Barca fail to agree Robinho deal

Barcelona have been unable to agree a deal to buy Manchester City's Brazil forward Robinho, the Spanish club's president Joan Laporta said on Monday.

"The conditions that we were prepared to accept for Robinho were not accepted by Manchester City," he told RAC1 radio.

"We are very satisfied with the squad that we have. Unless there is a last minute surprise, I don't think we will be tapping the winter transfer market," he added.