Manchester City manager Mark Hughes is relishing the prospect of taking his side in the high-profile games in the UEFA Cup as the cash-rich Eastlands club go about establishing themselves as a force to reckon.

The Premiership outfit was drawn amongst FC Twente, Schalke 04, Paris St-German and Racing Santander for the UEFA Cup group stages at the draw in Nyon Tuesday morning. Although Hughes admits it is a tough draw, the former Blackburn boss is also confident his side can progress to the knock-out stages.

The City boss told the club’s official website: "It is obviously a pretty tough group that we find ourselves in, but given the fact that as I have said before this is a very strong competition full of good teams, this was always going to be the case.

"If you look across the board there are some really testing teams in all groups, and to be playing at this level in high profile games can only be good for our football club. It will be a challenge, but I am confident that we can progress further in this competition."