Hughes: ‘Sir Alex is sick of talking about us — that amuses me’

Hughes: ‘Sir Alex is sick of talking about us — that amuses me’: "

MANCHESTER, Sept 19 — Mark Hughes refused to be cowed yesterday by his old boss's outbursts against Manchester City, declaring himself 'amused' by the fact that the club's high profile was irritating Sir Alex Ferguson and flatly stating that Manchester United, a poorer side without Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, had failed to reach the levels of last season.

In an often irreverent discussion of Ferguson ahead of tomorrow's Old Trafford derby, Hughes declared United to have been 'below par' in all but last weekend's win at White Hart Lane. 'They've lost two significant players from last year and any team can and will be affected because of that. You can't afford to lose players of that standard and not replace them. I don't think they've replaced them. I don't think they are playing as well as they did last year.'

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