Sheikh Mansour dispelled any uncertainty over Mark Hughes's future at Manchester City last night by reiterating in the strongest terms that the manager would be given the time and money promised to him.

Although City's billionaire owner had expected the team to make a better start to the season than they have, he has been amused and bewildered by claims that he is lining up a replacement for Hughes after a run of seven defeats in 12 Barclays Premier League games.

As revealed in The Times yesterday, Sheikh Mansour will provide Hughes with “unlimited” funds with which to bolster his squad in January and next summer and those reassurances were borne out during a productive two-hour meeting in Abu Dhabi last night. It was the first time that Hughes, accompanied by Garry Cook, the City executive chairman, had met Sheikh Mansour since the United Arab Emirates' Minister of Presidential Affairs bought the club for £200million in September, and as the manager boarded a flight home late last night he must have been encouraged by what he heard and saw.

Hughes plans, primarily, to target players with Premier League experience and pedigree during the January transfer window, with Roque Santa Cruz, the Blackburn Rovers forward, Lassana Diarra, the Portsmouth midfield player, and Wayne Bridge, the Chelsea left back, featuring prominently in his thoughts, and Sheikh Mansour is supportive of that approach.

The manager and owner remain eager to secure more high-profile signings in the Robinho mould in the longer term, although Sheikh Mansour accepts the need to strike a balance, echoing his earlier claims that it was necessary to “build a structure for the future, not just a team of all-stars”.

“Mark shared with me his plans for how the team should be developed,” Sheikh Mansour said in a statement issued last night. “His strategy is compelling and he has my absolute mandate to implement his plans to evolve this team in the right way over the short, medium and long terms.”

Plans are being put in place for Sheikh Mansour and Hughes, who had called for people to “calm down a little bit” amid the rumours about his future, to meet every few months. “I'm delighted at the potential for them [Garry and Mark] to positively impact the evolution of Manchester City in its entirety,” the owner said. “I fully endorse the plans approved by the Manchester City board that Khaldoon [al-Mubarak, the chairman], Mark and Garry shared with me. They reflect our shared aim of seeing Manchester City evolve to become a significant force in the world of football.

“Importantly, we see that evolution being on every level and born out of a sustainable approach that has its foundations in the club's academy, its fans and the relationship with the Manchester community.”