By David Hamill

Football is a cruel business – one minute you are representing Manchester United, Barcelona or Bayern Munich and hailed as one of the finest strikers of your generation. The next you’re totally humiliated by taking charge of a team knowing that regardless of the outcome the sack is inevitable.   And to make things worse for Mark Hughes his imminent successor was waiting in the wings ready to step in – an appointment that was made weeks ago.   Ok, City may have felt entitled to replace Hughes but why they couldn’t have dispensed of his services before the Sunderland game and installed Roberto Mancini or a caretaker manager is anyone’s guess.

Perhaps they want to send a message that managerial failure will be met with the demeaning punishment Hughes endured.

The 1-1 draw with Hull seemed to be the last straw for Manchester City’s owners and their ruthless approach has made it empathically clear that whoever is in charge will have to make an immediate impact.

Since the owners are the ones providing the money to bring in the big names may be they have the right to act in whatever way they want, but every manager, regardless of the talent and resources at their disposal, will need time to build and shape the team in his way.

And there is no guarantee that Mancini will be the man to deliver the instant success they crave at Eastlands. There were arguably more established managers than the Italian available but the City hierarchy believe that Mancini, who guided Inter Milan to three Serie A titles, is best placed to take the club where they want to be – in Europe.

However, Mancini’s departure from the San Siro was hastened by his failure to alter Inter’s miserable record in the Champions League – and their 3-0 aggregate defeat to Liverpool in 2008 more or less spelled the end of his tenure.

While the former Sampdoria star has an impressive domestic record, the match-fixing scandal severely weakened AC Milan and Juventus and allowed Inter a clear shot at the title three years running.

So while Hughes was never the right man for City, Mancini isn’t necessarily the right one either and if he doesn’t reach the minimum target he will be the next ex-player who prospered at club level to suffer a spectacular fall from grace. Then it might be the time to question whether it’s the owners or the manager, who are the main problem.