CITY'S Carrington training ground has this summer undergone a major revamp both in terms of physical changes and its ambience and now it is time for Mark Hughes to put his stamp on the transfer policy.

It is no secret that last season under Sven-Goran Eriksson the Blues' headquarters had the air of an open house.

There were few strict, hard and fast rules for players and staff to adhere to with Eriksson and his countrymen Hans Backe and Tord Grip reliant on mutual respect to keep matters within acceptable bounds.

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Things are a little different this time around as the players settle in to their familiar surroundings after a ten-day trip to a German training camp and the flying visit to the Faroe Islands that looks like ensuring progress in the UEFA Cup.

Most of the faces arriving in the morning for double training sessions have not changed, only Jo is a new boy, but what was akin to a Swedish health spar has undergone a metamorphoses into what insiders are already labelling `The (Welsh) Dragons Den.'

The orderly, tidy and supremely organised new boss has brought with him a new code of conduct as well as a highly qualified and much trusted coterie of former Wales and Blackburn coaches Mark Bowen, Eddie Niedzwiecki and Glyn Hodges, performance analysts and additions to the medical staff.

No-nonsense Hughes has instantly made a favourable impression where it matters most with the players who have already responded to him turning back the training centre from its drift towards being a leisure club.

There have been some internal building alterations - with more in the pipeline - and brand new signage in the reception areas and the car park make everyone aware that they are entering a place of work.

Players have already touched on the increased discipline and the sweat-inducing pre-season and now the fans excitedly await the results on the pitch so that they can compare how much Hughes' approach gets out of the players.

Spirits

There is no right or wrong way when it comes to management styles for the only arbiter in the end is the number of points collected.

Hughes now needs to give everyone working at the club and those who have blue blood in their veins a lift in spirits.

Everything seems a little flat after the failure of Thaksin Shinawatra's advisors to lure box office giant Ronaldinho to Eastlands and not the San Siro.

What the whole saga has done, thanks to some highly injudicious public bidding, is make Hughes' task in an already inflated transfer market more difficult.

The fact that City publicly admitted that they had bid nigh on £25m for Ronaldinho has raised expectations among supporters that the Blues still have that much in their transfer war chest when clearly that is not the case.

It also sent out the wrong signals to every club in Europe and beyond who now think that City are cash-rich and who will, as a result, inflate their asking prices accordingly making it even harder for Hughes to obtain the right players at the right price.

Even so, Hughes does need some new faces and with the opening game of the Premier League campaign a fast diminishing 27 days away he will use the weeks between UEFA Cup ties to try and strengthen and balance his squad.

Most likely arrivals are a right winger, a defensive midfielder, a couple of defenders and a goalkeeper. That list may be augmented by another striker should either or both Bernardo Corradi or Rolando Bianchi return to Italy.

The arrival at West Ham this week of Switzerland's international right-back Valon Behrami from Lazio for £5m will increase the likelihood of combative Aussie Lucas Neill making the switch from Upton Park to Eastlands.

The Hammers insist on one hand that both Behrami and Neill are versatile enough to find a place in their starting line- up but on the other hand are saying that Alan Curbishley needs to trim the size of his squad and his wage bill in equal proportions.

Versed

Neill, of course, is well versed in the ways of Hughes and his coaches and also offers cover in the heart of the defence that will be needed in the early weeks of the season as lynch pin and skipper Richard Dunne serves the suspension he picked up for being sent off in the last Premier League game of Sven's reign at Middlesbrough.

A feisty character, Neill would also smooth some of the brittle edges City displayed last season.

Now a 30-year-old and with more than 230 games in the English top flight and 41 Australian caps behind him, Neill would not cost the earth in terms of a transfer fee - probably around £2m - though his wages of £60,000 per week would be a big consideration for a full-back heading towards the veteran stage.

It would also throw a question mark against the long-term futures of Nedum Onuoha and Vedran Corluka, the men who shared the right-back role for much of last season.

Both those City players are arguably more natural central defenders and their places would be further put into the melting pot should City follow up early initial interest in Israeli international Tal Ben Haim at Chelsea where he is surplus to requirements and available for around £5m.

His signing would possibly be more controversial than that of Neill given the Blues' apparent strength at the back.

Where City do need a new face is on a right flank occupied by no fewer than six different players last season, though it seems that David Bentley is being inched out of Hughes' price range.

Exchange

The England winger appears to be heading for Spurs in a cash plus player exchange that involves another Three Lions star, goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

That may, however, open up the possibility of yet another England ace, Aaron Lennon, becoming available and he would seem a decent fit as a mirror-image for Martin Petrov on the left though many Blues followers would clearly and understandably like to see Hughes attempt to bring back Shaun-Wright Phillips.

Then there is the search for an experienced goalkeeper to put pressure on Joe Hart, who is yet to sign a new contract and who didn't have his most assured game in the Faroe Islands last week.

Hart is an exciting talent and showed his class on many occasions last season but admits himself that he still has plenty to learn. Hughes would like Blackburn's American veteran Brad Friedel to assist with putting the finishing touches to Hart but the promise of first-team football at Villa and Martin O'Neill's near £4m bid are likely to lure the 37-year-old custodian down the M6. The next few weeks will be a test for the Blues owner, too.

Nearly all the incoming transfers so far have been from foreign clubs which means payment for them can be staggered over the length of the contract.

When a player moves between British clubs the full fee has to be paid within a year. The capture of a big-money English player would, therefore, allay some of the fans' worries that surround just how much cash Hughes may or may not have to spend.

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