Ancelotti will extend hand of friendship to Hughes

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti insists he will have no problem shaking hands with Manchester City boss Mark Hughes whatever the result at Eastlands on Saturday.

Hughes found himself at the centre of a storm on Wednesday when Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger refused to shake the Welshman’s hand in the aftermath of City’s 3-0 League Cup victory over the Gunners.

The City manager, who responded to Wenger’s snub with a mocking wave as he disappeared down the tunnel, accused the French coach of showing a lack of respect and there seems little hope of a thawing in relations between the two long-time rivals.

But there is no chance of a repeat of those unpleasant scenes on the Eastlands touchline this weekend because Ancelotti has the utmost respect for Hughes.

“Hughes is a very good coach, I know him. For me it is not a problem to shake hands. It is a thing you do to show respect to the other coaches. It is normal,” Ancelotti said.

“I don’t know if it was right or wrong (for Wenger not to shake hands). Every person can do what he wants. I don’t know why Wenger didn’t shake hands with Hughes.

“In Italy it is not usual to do it immediately after the game. In England we have to do it. It is a good thing to maintain calm and the good atmosphere.”

While Ancelotti will extend the hand of friendship off the pitch, the Italian knows his team cannot afford to be so generous on it.

The Blues are five point clear at the top of the Premier League following Sunday’s impressive 3-0 win at Arsenal, while City have drawn their last seven league games.

Despite those contrasting fortunes, former AC Milan coach Ancelotti has no intention of underestimating City because he is well aware how desperate they will be to claim a famous scalp.

Hughes’s side looked in better form as they disposed of an under-strength Arsenal in midweek, while Chelsea lost on penalties to Blackburn, and Ancelotti said: “We have to pay attention because every game is difficult. There are many teams in England with very good quality.

“On Saturday we play against a dangerous team because Manchester City have a lot of quality players.

“They didn’t win for seven games and will want to beat Chelsea because we are top of the table. They will have very good motivation. We have to pay attention to this.

“I think they have a possibility to finish in the top four because they have a very good squad.

“The problem is when you change the squad in the season it is not easy. It is necessary to have time. The work for Mark Hughes has not been easy in the last few months.

“If you take a good player, a top player, it is the faster way to arrive in the top.”

Although Chelsea hold a commanding lead over Manchester United and have already beaten all their ‘big four’ rivals this season, Ancelotti only has to think back to his time at Juventus to realise that the race is far from over.

In 2000, Ancelotti’s Juventus squandered a nine-point lead at the top of Serie A and lost the title to Sven Goran Eriksson’s Lazio on the final day of the season.

“We have to do the race for us, not for the other teams. If we continue to play like we did against Arsenal we have a very good possibility to finish in first place,” he said.

“But I know football well. I lost one championship when we were nine points ahead.”

Ancelotti, who will be without defenders Jose Bosingwa and Alex as well as Ivory Coast striker Salomon Kalou at Eastlands, also dropped a hint that his future may lie in the international arena.

With Friday’s draw for the group stages of the World Cup attracting the attention of the football world, Ancelotti said: “I experienced the World Cup as a player in 1986 and in 1994 as an assistant coach.

“It was a fantastic experience. I would like to repeat this in the future as coach of a national team.”