Manchester City boss Mark Hughes is convinced of a strong second-half of the season as his new players settle into Premiership life.

"There are good signs, there is no doubt that. I am very positive about what we can achieve between now and the end of the season," said Hughes.

"Take Nigel de Jong for instance. He is still finding his feet. It was a big break from the game he had because of injury at Hamburg, but on Saturday he looked stronger and both he and Pablo Zabaleta understood what we wanted from them. They did some tidy work and gave us a platform and that, like several other aspects to our game, was encouraging."