Fulham manager Mark Hughes has admitted there is added incentive to beat Manchester City when the teams meet at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
Hughes was sacked by City last December and swiftly replaced by Italian Roberto Mancini, who is under pressures of his own.
The Welshman is not dwelling on what was or might have been during his time at Eastlands, stating he has now moved on and is only looking forward.
However, Hughes would like to get one over his former paymasters and is relishing the prospect of bringing down the big spenders this weekend.
“Whenever a player goes up against a team he was employed by, or a manager in my circumstances, there is always an extra incentive to try to win the game,” said Hughes.
“I’m no different from any individual in similar circumstances.
“My aim first and foremost is to win for Fulham. It is always nice to go up against former clubs and show that there is life after you have left them.
“Once the door on my career as a manager at Manchester City was closed then I moved on. I don’t hold grudges.
“I’m not bitter about the situation. The only thing that affects is yourself.
“Why drag yourself down with things that have happened in the past? You have to move on and look for other challenges.”
Hughes believes one of his greatest tasks was attempting to lure high calibre talent to Eastlands, an issue that is not such a big problem for Mancini.
The former Blackburn boss thinks he was sacked to accelerate the club’s quest for success, although he questions whether his removal has helped.
“The team itself hasn’t formed as quickly as the people in charge would have liked,” he continued. “They made a change with a view to accelerating the process of getting success. That doesn’t seem to have happened.
“But it is only a matter of time. They have got good players there already and have that flexibility to go into the market and buy whoever they like.
“No other club in the world has that ability. Whether that is fair or right those are the circumstances everybody else finds themselves in.
“It is getting easier to attract players to the club because the profile has been raised in the last 12 months.
“When I was there it was very difficult to convince people what Manchester City were trying to do. It was difficult to get in front of top players and have a pitch at them.
“Now the word is out that if you want to go to a club which will give you lots of money Manchester City are a viable option.
“There has to be a level of patience. From my point of view that wasn’t shown as long as I felt it should have been. But the current manager is their choice.” .
