Garry Cook, the Manchester City executive chairman, had good reason to be anxious. With the club having decided that Mark Hughes was the best candidate to replace Sven-Göran Eriksson after failing to hire Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Portugal coach, Cook was under orders from Thaksin Shinawatra, the City owner, to get the deal done as quickly as possible in the wake of the Swede’s dismissal on Monday and Chelsea’s interest in Hughes.

Missing out on a manager who had been championed by Alistair Mackintosh, the City chief executive, last summer before the appointment of Eriksson was unacceptable to Thaksin and as long as the door remained open to a possible counter-bid, the situation was causing considerable unease.

When Hughes phoned Cook on Tuesday evening to tell him that he would be late for their meeting in Central London, because of an accident on the A40 that was delaying the drive down from his home in Cheshire, City’s executive chairman could have been forgiven for fearing the worst. Would events, and time, conspire against them and allow Chelsea to snatch Hughes from under their noses with an eleventh-hour move?

As it transpired, Chelsea’s sights were set elsewhere, but no one at City knew that, and when Hughes arrived at the Chesterfield Hotel, in Mayfair, shortly before 9pm, Cook wasted no time outlining his vision for the club.

Six-and-a-half hours of talks followed, during which time Cook and Hughes discussed all matters, from transfer targets and plans for next season to players’ contracts and the club’s burgeoning youth academy, before they called it a day. Thaksin welcomed Hughes to the club during a 15-minute phone conversation yesterday morning, before the manager signed a three-year contract worth £3 million a year — double his salary at Blackburn.

The manner of Eriksson’s departure may have provoked anger from City fans at Thaksin, but with plans to sign Ronaldinho and Jô, the Brazil strikers, and with arguably Britain’s best young manager at the helm, the former Prime Minister of Thailand is confident of winning around his critics.

“The supporters, I hope, will also see what I am trying to do,” he said. “They have loved the club longer than me, but I am with them because I have invested my money, a lot of money.”

City fans will also be heartened to hear that the likes of Micah Richards will not be sold. “He is our star,” Thaksin said. “He will not leave.”

Hughes has carved an impressive reputation during his nine years in management and any ill-feeling because of his associations with Manchester United is likely to be quickly forgotten. Having turned Wales from a team of no-hopers to one that almost qualified for the European Championship finals in 2004, Hughes built on the foundations laid by Graeme Souness at Blackburn, guiding the club into Europe and to two FA Cup semi-finals. He was also shrewd in the transfer market, capturing Benni McCarthy, Roque Santa Cruz and David Bentley for a combined cost of less than £9 million.

City are in negotiations with Manchester City Council about the possibility of selling naming rights to sponsors for the City of Manchester Stadium. A deal is expected to be struck in time for the 2009-10 season and could be worth up to £50 million over ten years.