MANCHESTER CITY have appointed Roberto Mancini as manager after sacking Mark Hughes.
The former Inter Milan coach has been handed a three-and-a-half year contract to replace Hughes.
Italian tactician Mancini, 45, won three Serie A titles with Inter during his four-year spell in charge at the San Siro before Jose Mourinho replaced him at the helm last year.
Hughes waved goodbye to the Eastlands faithful after his side's 4-3 win over Sunderland.
His side have lost just twice in the Premier League this season but chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has grown tired of their inconsistent form.
Al Mubarak said: "Roberto is a hugely experienced manager with a proven track record of winning trophies and championships.
"His experience and track record speak for themselves.
"What is absolutely clear is that Roberto believes in Manchester City's potential to achieve at the highest level and importantly in his own ability to make this happen.
"My hope is that our incredible fans will join us in welcoming Roberto to the football club."
Brian Kidd will assist Mancini but Mark Bowen, Eddie Niedzwiecki, Kevin Hitchcock and Glyn Hodges have all left with immediate effect.
Hughes led City to just 29 points from a possible 51 in the present campaign, despite spending over £100million on the likes of Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Gareth Barry last summer.
They are currently four points off a Champions League place and a massive 11 points behind leaders Chelsea.
In a statement on City's official website, Al Mubarak explained why the club decided to sack Hughes.
He said: "Prior to the current season beginning, with significant investment in players and infrastructure in place, the consensus between the board and coaching staff was that appropriate agreed targets should be set for the 2009/2010 season.
"The targets were agreed as a result of the player acquisition strategy of the club being radically accelerated in the summer as a result of very favourable conditions for any buying club.
"It was also based on the fact that the infrastructure of the club had been overhauled completely at great cost in order to create the best possible environment for the team.
"This is a particularly difficult announcement given the personal investment over the past 15 months on all sides and we would like to put on record our respect for and thanks to Mark Hughes and we wish him the best in his future career."
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