Hughes savouring United semi

[Mark (Blue Army)]

Mark Hughes wore the smile of a contented man after watching his side cruise past Arsenal and into a Carling Cup semi final against United.

The Blues boss insists that if his men repeats the form of the quarter final tie then they have nothing to fear from 180 minutes against the neighbours.

“I think the United draw was meant to be,” he smiled after seeing three wonder goals from Carlos Tevez, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Vladimir Weiss seal a memorable win in front of another CoMs full house.

"When we play like we have done
tonight we can be a match for anyone.
Over two legs we will back ourselves
against any side and that includes
United."

"I don’t know whether Fergie will stick with the kids, they have some very good ones. They defeated a near full strength Tottenham side but we know we can compete with them.”

Hughes was most pleased with the team work and tempo in the romp against Arsenal and maintained that one defeat since the start of the season proves that the club is making progress.

“We have been frustrating everyone, not least ourselves, because we have let good opportunities slip but the manner of the victory over Arsenal was impressive. We managed the game well once we went in front,” he stressed.

“We are working hard to drive the club forward and we want to be successful over a long period of time. The first step in that is to make sure we are a team that is consistent in performances and results. We are showing progress.

“The level of performance in the quarter final was excellent from front to back. We were never going to be denied tonight we had a strong mentality and a determination about us and we got the job done comfortably in the end. We stood up to the challenge.

"I was pleased with the level everyone
produced. The defence gave us the
platform to press further up the field."

“The three goals were all great. Carlos created something himself and Shaun’s goal capped an outstanding performance. He was back to what we know he can be. He has been a bit frustrated but he was outstanding.”