Mark Hughes blasts Sven Goran Eriksson for leaving Manchester City with an unfit squad

Mark Hughes has taken a swipe at former Manchester City boss Sven Goran Eriksson for leaving him with what he considers is an unfit squad.

City's calamitous pre-season - with Thursday's 1-0 UEFA Cup qualifier defeat to FC Midtjylland adding to their woes - had Hughes blaming his squad's lack of stamina.

He claimed he was forced to replace the training methods in place under Eriksson with a more high-intensity programme, which some players had struggled to cope with.

City open their Premier League campaign at Aston Villa tomorrow and Hughes - who replaced Eriksson as manager in June - said: "We're trying to get a group of players up to match-fitness and that was evident the other night in the UEFA Cup.

"Once we get into the games we'll see the benefit of what we're doing, but it will take time. It won't happen over night.

"Maybe we'll have to wait because our training is different from what they've been doing before.

"To compete in the Premier League you have to be athletic, you have to be dynamic and sustain that performance from the first game to the last.

"A lot of players came here for their first season in the Premier League and it will have been an eye opener to some players. Now they understand how hard they have to work to get Premier League points, they're like gold dust.

"It's about doing training at the right time and with the right intensity of work. And it's about making players able to cope with the demands of the Premier League "We've one of the best fitness coaches in the business and everything we do is done with a purpose. It will take time.

"We've made a lot of changes in a short space of time and I suppose it's been a shock for some.

"We've given them a lot of different information. Some maybe digest it quickly and some don't. They have to take in a lot."