Mark Hughes was pleased with what he saw from City in Saturday’s friendly against Hamburg SV.

Despite the 1-0 defeat, the Manager found plenty of positives from the game, which was played on a sweltering afternoon where temperatures inside the HSV Nordbank Arena touched the 90-degree mark.

Hughes said, “It was an excellent game for our preparations at this time of the season. Hamburg are an excellent side, a little bit ahead of us in their preparation and maybe that showed in the first half.

“We allowed Hamburg a little bit too much time on the ball, the conditions were difficult and it was very, very hot out on the pitch. It was a difficult day in that respect, but I thought we were better in the second half, we affected the game, made Hamburg a little bit more predictable and forced more errors in their play. We needed to do that, and it was something we had not done in the first half.

“I thought it was a good game, it was very effective for us, and it will help us in the weeks to come.”

Saturday’s game gave the Manager the chance to assess players who did not feature against EB/Streymur, and in the second half young attacking talent like Kelvin Etuhu, Ched Evans and Danny Sturridge were all brought on to show what they could do.

“Hamburg gave me an opportunity to have a look at some of the younger striker options that we have,” Hughes explained. “It’s important that they have the opportunity to play in these games in good stadiums, against good crowds and good opposition. That can only help their development, so it’s important that I understand what options I have.

“It’s still a number of weeks to the start of the Premier League, there’s a lot of work to do but I was pleased they were able to get on the field and have an impact. I think for these young players that is really important.”

Michael Johnson did not travel to Germany, but Hughes says that there is no serious fitness concern over the young midfielder.

“Michael got a kick on the foot in the European game, and he has found it a little bit uncomfortable because of the position where the impact was. He’ll be training on Monday, so we are quite positive about that,” the Manager concluded.