Garry Cook fails to explain why Mark Hughes wasn't told of sacking before game

Published on Monday 21 December 2009 22:56

MANCHESTER City chief executive Garry Cook has admitted the decision to get rid of Mark Hughes was taken on Wednesday night – but refused to state why he failed to step in to prevent the Welshman finding himself in the ridiculous situation of managing the team against Sunderland on Saturday while knowing he would be getting sacked straight afterwards.

Hughes was not officially informed of the decision to dispense with his services until after the 4-3 win over Sunderland. However, the former Wales chief must have known given the widespread rumours that began circulating on the day of the game and his pointed decision to applaud the crowd immediately after the final whistle.

With Roberto Mancini already in place and ready to take over, chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak wanted to inform Hughes face to face and jumped on a plane to perform the task. But given he touched down at 10am – five hours before kick-off – it is staggering Hughes was not spared the humiliation that unfolded. "There seems to be an overwhelming theory that there was a conspiracy," said Cook. "There was no conspiracy. Like any other business we have plans and targets; and we have contingencies for when those are not being met.

"The chairman has been nothing but transparent with Mark throughout his tenure and the decision to end it was a unanimous one taken by the chairman, myself and the board. The intention was to tell Mark immediately after the game on Saturday. Regrettably, and despite our best efforts, rumours of discussions with Roberto Mancini became public."

As Cook refused to answer any questions, or clarify the salient points from a pre-prepared statement, he did not address the issue of why Hughes was not simply sacked on Wednesday or Thursday as City moved for Mancini. It will hardly help the Eastlands outfit's public profile, which has suffered a series of blows, culminating in Saturday's debacle. Indeed, Cook seemed at a loss to understand why anyone should question his version of events, despite the fact he has been among those at City to continually stress the club's super-rich owner Sheikh Mansour had a long-term vision and would not make knee-jerk reactions. Yet that is exactly what has happened given City would be exactly on target for the 70 points set by Sheikh Mansour, Khaldoon and Cook before the start of the season if they win their next two matches against Stoke and Wolves.

"The playing staff agreed that target with the board following the accelerated player acquisition activity in the summer transfer window," continued Cook. "The trajectory of recent results was below this requirement and the board felt that there was no evidence that the situation would fundamentally change."