Benitez slaps down City upstarts

Rafael Benitez has warned Manchester City that their new billing as the world’s richest football club will not guarantee success for manager Mark Hughes at Eastlands.

Liverpool manager Benitez takes his team to City on Sunday for a Premier League encounter against the club tipped by many to break-up the established ‘Big Four’ of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool on the back of last month’s 210-million-pound takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG).

By splashing out 32.5 million pounds to break the British transfer record for Brazilian forward Robinho on transfer deadline day, City delivered a stunning statement of their intention to challenge the established powers for a place in the Champions League.

And with Liverpool’s financial future shrouded in uncertainty due to the problems between American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, combined with the inability to fund the construction of a new stadium, the emerging force of City have been singled out as the biggest threat to Liverpool’s membership of the top four club.

Hughes is expected to spend big again in the January transfer window in an effort to inject more quality into his squad, but Benitez insists that money alone will not smooth City’s path to glory — especially when up against clubs with the history and tradition of Liverpool, United and Arsenal.

Benitez said: “In January we will see what will happen, but it’s not easy to improve a squad. Chelsea were spending money for years before they could win the title, so it’s not easy.

“You also have to take into consideration the level of the other teams. If you are talking about money, then Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal have been spending big money on players for a long time.

“Money can help to sign the best players. You need balance in the squad, though, and that is the key if you want to win trophies.”

Robinho has made an instant impact since arriving in England from Real Madrid, scoring a memorable free-kick on his City debut against Chelsea, and Benitez admits that Hughes has signed a top quality player in the Brazilian.

He said: “We know he’s a really good player and will always be a threat. He played well (for Real Madrid) last season and that is the reason why City have decided to sign him.

“He’s a top class player and he has quality, so he can play well in England.”

Initial claims by those linked to ADUG, suggesting that City would challenge for the Champions League this season, have since been toned down by Hughes.

And the former Blackburn manager admits that the reality for City is that they must still grow as a club and as a team before emerging as top four contenders.

He said: “The top four is a big ask for us because they are good sides who reside there at the moment.

“There were statements made when the takeover first happened, but it’s assured and calm and more realistic now.

“We are only five games further down the line (since the 3-1 defeat by Chelsea) so it will be big ask for us again to get a result against Liverpool because they are at the top of their form at the moment.

“It would help us if we won, but maybe expectations will start to run away with themselves again, so we have to temper everything.

“We’re a young team and don’t have the consistency of performance yet that we’ll need to get to be viewed as a top four team.”