Sir Bobby Robson says Mark Hughes must get a grip of Manchester City's inconsistent star Robinho.

In his column for the Mail on Sunday, Robson wrote: "Hughes's top priority should be to turn Robinho into the player he should be. I am told Real Madrid substituted Robinho 19 times last season, so there is clearly some defect in his make-up.

"The most gifted players are often wayward, so the challenge for any manager is to get the best out of them. Treat them too harshly and they will rebel and you will get nothing. Be too gentle and they will take advantage and resentment will creep in among the other players. I don't know Robinho personally but, from what I have seen, he is the type of lad who needs to be treated firmly.

"If he thinks he can get away with something, he will do it again and again. It looks as though he has got away with one or two things. He went to Brazil when he should have been in a training camp in Tenerife and clearly dresses how he wants when he is representing the club abroad.

"I would say ground rules need to be made clear to him. If not, the other players in the dressing room will get resentful of him being treated as a special case and will see what they can get away with, too."