Sorry City are second best

Bolton W 2, Man City 0

WHAT Manchester City’s new mega-rich rulers from Abu Dhabi make of the club’s current wretched run remains to be seen.

Yesterday’s dire display in the derby defeat at Bolton Wanderers means City have picked up four points from a possible 18 since their takeover was formally completed.

And it is clear that one swallow - British record £32.5million signing Robinho - doesn’t make a summer, or in this case a team.

As City languish in mid-table, they look a million miles away from breaking the monopoly of the big four at the top.

If City have any ambitions of even qualifying for Europe next season, they cannot afford to lose at the likes of Wigan, Middlesbrough and Bolton as they have done in the last month.

Mark Hughes, who yesterday vowed to remedy the ills, must surely be a manager under pressure and with a giant task ahead of him as he bids to deliver the honours the owners will surely be demanding.

Hughes, when asked if his side was “soft,” replied: “It is not a word I would associate with ourselves, but sometimes you have to dig in and away from home we need to be stronger and more resolute.

“You know what you have to face when you come up against Bolton, but too many of our players were caught out and surprised by that.

“In fairness that is credit to Bolton who worked extremely hard to nullify our attacking threat.

“We need to be better and show more purpose to our play and work out the problems Bolton were setting us.

“In the end we played a game that Bolton are more adept hitting too many long and straight balls into players in important positions and as a consequence Bolton were able to break up those opportunities.

“Bolton also played too many balls into our box which we ought to have stopped at source, and we were poor in that respect.

“It is disappointing because we had targeted this week’s games to get something positive out of.

“We haven’t played anything like we know we can. There are reasons why, and we will address those reasons and come back stronger.”

Hughes had every right to be disappointed because Bolton were ripe for the taking as they kicked off the afternoon in bottom spot.

They had not scored in their previous three league matches and hadfailed to find the net in six of their 10 league games, winning only once since the opening day of the campaign.

With both teams hardly in sparkling form, the Reebok Stadium was barely three quarters full to its capacity for this local derby.

And the stayaway fans were lucky ones on an icy-cold afternoon with little on the field of play to warm the heart in an opening period of hardly a chance.

It was only in the dying minutes that City upped the tempo and only two decent saves from Jussi Jaaskelainen denied Stephen Ireland and Ched Evans who was again deputising for the unwell Jo.

And the Finnish keeper was again alert after the break to keep out Robinho who cut in from the left before letting fly.

It took Bolton over an hour to create their first meaningful chance when Kevin Nolan was stopped by keeper Joe Hart with a brave block from six yards.

Bolton finally delivered in the 78th minute after a stylish build up out of keeping with what we had endured to that point.

It ended with Icelander Gretar Steinsson firing over a low cross from the right which substitute Ricardo Gardner converted from inside the six-yard box, though he almost contrived to miss as it went in off the underside of the crossbar.

Then to add insult to injury, City captain Richard Dunne put through his goal for the second time in the space of a week.

After doing likewise at Newcastle, Dunne proved lightning can strike twice as, diving in, he could only divert Gardner’s low cross from the left past the hapless Hart.