The experience of playing under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United has clearly rubbed off on Mark Hughes and helped to shape him as a manager. Hughes may come across as a softly spoken individual, but that is where comparisons with Sven-Göran Eriksson, his predecessor at Manchester City, end.

Mark Bowen, Hughes’s highly respected No 2, yesterday offered an insight into the mind of the new City manager, revealing a man with an unquenchable thirst to be the best and one who demands absolute commitment from his staff and players.

Like Ferguson, Hughes is not averse to dishing out the “hairdryer” treatment when he sees fit, but, even though he is a disciplinarian, he is open to ideas from his close-knit backroom staff and fiercely protective of his players, even if he does like to keep them at arm’s length.

Bowen, the former Wales defender who, along with Eddie Niedzwiecki and Kevin Hitchcock, two other trusted lieutenants, will join Hughes at City from Blackburn Rovers, said: “He’s not a manager who would walk into the dressing-room or wherever and spend a lot of time in and around the group. He’s willing to talk to the players — no problem — and he’s not aloof, but he does like to keep his distance.

“He wants to try and cover every single base, so if we lose a game and he comes in the dressing-room and starts throwing the odd teacup he doesn’t have one player who can put his hand up and say, ‘Yes, it’s not my fault we lost because I didn’t know this or we didn’t do that.’ It’s a simple philosophy, but one that requires bloody hard work to maintain.

“Mark uses Eric Cantona as an example at United. He was always open to new things, how he could improve and take his game forward. He never thought he was finished, that you couldn’t teach him anything, and if there are players at Man City who think we can’t tell them the same, they won’t be here long under this manager.”