Manchester City boss Mark Hughes is ready to bomb out the club's slackers.

After defeat to Nottingham Forest, the Daily Mail says it is understood Hughes did not even give his side a particularly noticeable rollicking on Saturday. The Welshman is fed up with talking to players who, aware that they have no long-term future at the club, just stare back at him with blank, emotionless faces.

On Saturday one player, who had played a major part in City's downfall, laughed with a team-mate as he took his post-match shower.

Only a fortnight previously, a group of players, prominently featuring Brazilian Elano and Israeli defender Tal Ben Haim, called a team meeting with the express purpose of denigrating Hughes's tactics.

One player - no longer in the squad - recently went to executive chairman Garry Cook to complain (unsuccessfully) about the manager.

Against this background, it is clear why Hughes feels the need to shake up his squad and isolate those who appear to have lost the desire to play for him.

Michael Ball, Didi Hamann, Elano and Jo would not figure in another Hughes team in his ideal world.