Hughes hoping to conquer the continent
Mark Hughes has reiterated his Manchester City side are determined to make their mark across the Continent this season.
City begin the group stages of the UEFA Cup by facing Steve McClaren's FC Twente at Eastlands on Thursday night and are hoping to get back on track after successive Barclays Premier League defeats against Bolton and Middlesbrough.
Hughes said: "We want to stay in the competition as long as we can and raise our profile."
He added: "That's the aim but it is a really strong competition this year. Right across the board there are top quality teams in the various groups.
"There are different tests in Europe and we need to show we have the ability to deal with those tests."
Former England boss McClaren has got off to a good start in his first season with the Dutch club.
Twente are currently sixth in the table but only two points off the leaders. They also defeated Racing Santander in their first group game in Europe.
And Hughes expects a tough match against a side that lost 6-0 on aggregate to Arsenal in August in the Champions League.
He said: "Twente will be a different proposition as they had not had any competitive games when they met Arsenal.
"They are now well into their season and will be better prepared. They are a good team. Twente like to get the ball down and play and are very patient in their build up. They keep possession well."
