Three days after his life and English football were turned upside down, Mark Hughes stated his confidence yesterday that Manchester City can infiltrate the Barclays Premier League's “big four”, but urged the club's prospective new owners to trust his judgment in the transfer market rather than adopt a scattergun approach.

Hughes is adjusting to the new reality of life at City, a club transformed into possibly the richest in the world by the imminent £200million takeover by the royal family of Abu Dhabi. The planned takeover, along with the British record £34.2million deal to sign Robinho from Real Madrid on Monday, has sent tremors through the sport, but Hughes, the manager, believes that he can help the al-Nahyan family to fulfil their grandiose ambitions for the club, provided that they allow him a say on transfer policy.

In a week when Alan Curbishley and Kevin Keegan have left their positions at West Ham United and Newcastle United respectively because of frustration at being unable to control transfer policy, Hughes would be forgiven for regarding City's newfound wealth as a double-edged sword. The members of the Abu Dhabi group had barely got their feet under the table in the City boardroom on Monday when they fired off bids for not only Robinho but also Ruud van Nistelrooy, David Villa and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, to name but three, while Dr Sulaiman al-Fahim, who is fronting the bid, has since talked of making Manchester United a £135million offer for Cristiano Ronaldo in January and trying to sign Cesc Fàbregas from Arsenal and Fernando Torres from Liverpool.

Hughes knows that he will not be in sole control of transfer policy, as he was in his previous job at Blackburn Rovers, but he hopes and expects to be able to work with the al-Nahyan family towards a common goal. “In days gone by managers worked in a different way to the way they work now,” Hughes said. “If you understand that and you understand where the business side overlaps with the football side and you understand the owners' point of view - and equally they have to understand where you're coming from and respect you - you can avoid disruption and dispute. You have to work together. Everyone wants the same goal, from the business side to the football side to the fans. The goal is success.

Now there are TWO ways to feed your fantasy

We have built on last year's success of PlayTheGame by offering fantasy football managers double the fun this coming season

Multimedia

• Chelsea: On-the-job training

• Man United: You've been merked, Capello

• Reading: Is Lita's yesterday's man?

Related Links

• City roll out red carpet for royal welcome

• Royal billions are just a start for City

“We will target players. But you can only play 11 players at any given time. We need to look at the balance of the squad because we have to have the right players in the right positions to be a strong team that will compete.”

The pressures on City were underlined yesterday when Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, suggested that they should be in contention to win the Premier League title this season and Ryan Giggs, Hughes's former Manchester United and Wales team-mate, said that it would “take decades” for City to emerge from the shadow of their neighbours. Hughes accepts that the prospective new owners are fiercely ambitious, but he feels that he is strong enough to cope.

“The new owners have got big plans and they are not going to hang about,” Hughes said. “They want to get there as quickly as possible and we will try to make that happen. I know money doesn't guarantee you success. Look at Chelsea. Yes, they have won the Premier League, but they have not won the Champions League. It's a big ask.

“But it is not something we will shy away from. I have had pressure throughout my career and that really doesn't faze me. The potential is here to be a huge club. If that, in the future, means being bigger than the teams in the top four at the minute, then so be it. At the moment we are a long way from the level of top four, but it will not stop us from being ambitious - and that means winning trophies.”