Pressure mounted on Mark Hughes last night as Manchester City lost a third successive match in the Barclays Premier League, 2-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur. With the City manager due to travel for a possible meeting with Sheikh Mansour, the club owner, in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, it was not the most eye-catching of results to take with him.

Sheikh Mansour is concerned at City's poor run of form - only two wins in nine league matches - and their place only a point above the relegation zone. However, he understands that Hughes's team-building is viewed by most at the club as a “work in progress” and is keen to talk face to face with him to be reassured that their objectives are compatible.

Hughes has similar hopes and aims for the meeting, although it may have to be delayed. “Sheikh Mansour is a very busy man and I'm sure he has a very full diary,” Hughes said. “I hope we're able to get out there [Abu Dhabi], but it's not confirmed yet. When the diaries allow us to do it, we will.”

City not only lost against a Tottenham side who had previously been anchored to the foot of the Premier League, but they also had Gelson Fernandes, the midfield player, and Richard Dunne, their captain, sent off.

Hughes has the support of most, if not all, the senior players at the club and while the manager is not under immediate threat, City's ambitions changed when Sheikh Mansour bought the club in September, with Champions League qualification the target.

Hughes enjoyed a cordial evening with Khaldoon al-Mubarak, the chairman, on Saturday night before a regulation board meeting yesterday. “The chairman came round my house last night and we had great discussions about where we want to take the club,” Hughes said. “It was a very positive meeting and I really enjoyed his company. He understands where we are and he is realistic. The important thing is to be stronger in the future.”

Hughes was less impressed by the display of Mike Dean, the referee, who also sent off Benoît Assou-Ekotto, the Tottenham left back. “He should have taken into account the [wet and greasy] conditions,” Hughes said.

As Newcastle United dropped into the relegation zone with a 2-1 defeat away to Fulham, Joe Kinnear showed signs of pressure when he called Martin Atkinson “a Mickey Mouse referee”. Kinnear's overreaction was provoked by a debatable push by Andrew Johnson in the lead-up to the game's decisive penalty. No doubt the FA will ask Kinnear, the Newcastle interim manager, to justify his post-match comments.

“If we'd had a proper referee, we'd have come away with something,” Kinnear said. “It was a blatant foul, a blatant push before the penalty, and he ignored it.” Asked if he supported the FA's Respect campaign, Kinnear said: “You can count the ones you want to respect on the fingers of one hand. That's the standard of refereeing in this country. They don't seem to care. They've always got a smart answer, they didn't see it.

“We've got Graham Poll [the former referee] and all the other 'eggs' talking. You don't speak to refs these days. There is no point.”