Manchester City captain Richard Dunne is confident the board will be guided by manager Mark Hughes' plans for his squad.

Dunne said: "If anyone leaves it will be the manager's decision. It definitely will be like that. Mark Hughes won't settle for anything else. That's exactly how every football club should be run. We won't be made weaker by business decisions.

"It's important for the whole club to stabilise itself and give the manager a chance. I presume it was the manager's belief when he came here that he wouldn't just be coming for one year. He obviously feels he's here for long haul.

"There was a lot of shock when Sven Goran Eriksson left. There was a time in the season when he was being offered a job for life, so for that to turn around and him not to have a job at all left the players wondering what was going on and what direction the club was taking.

"But the owners thought we needed to go in a different direction and getting the manager we have was a great piece of business.

"I genuinely believe the future is good. The stuff in the papers is nothing new at Manchester City.

"It happens all the time, but we can't worry about things we can't influence."