Hughes wary of teething problems

17th November 2008

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes admitted he expects his side to go through some teething problems in his first season, but hopes the 2-2 draw at Hull can prove a watershed.

An entertaining clash at the KC Stadium saw defensive howlers from both sides, courtesy of Tal Ben-Haim and Kamil Zayatte, before a superbly hit second for Stephen Ireland and a deflected Geovanni free-kick.

Despite Hull's fine start to life in the top flight, it is a fixture Manchester City's Abu Dhabi-based owners would probably be expecting to win.

But after three consecutive defeats, and questions over his own future at the club, Hughes identified an away point as a potential springboard going into matches against Manchester United and Arsenal.

"We're not the finished article yet, we're very early in our development and it's going to take time," he said. "I've said this week that along the way there will be a little bit of pain and we've gone through some of that already.

"But hopefully the way we played here, with top sides coming up, will help us. I think we'll go out and show what we can do."