In the last couple of months Hughes has brought in strikers Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Roque Santa Cruz and midfielder Gareth Barry at an estimated cost of more than £80million.

The introduction of that quartet has increased competition for places within the squad and Hughes may not yet have finished his transfer dealings as he is still hopeful of signing Chelsea and England centre-back John Terry.

But despite signing big-name players - and bringing in three strikers already poses a selection dilemma - the manager insists they are often easier to handle.

"It doesn't faze me at all. I understand it's a big responsibility and it's up to me to make sure we blend the team in the right manner and we get a winning team," he said.

"Everybody has a view on how you deal with big players and big world stars, the likes of Carlos Tevez.

"But from dealing with top players the reason they are top players is because they have certain qualities and certain attributes and blend themselves to being top professionals.

"From my experience the top, top players are easier to handle so there's no apprehension about it.

"I just view it as an outstanding opportunity for myself and my football club."

Hughes knows he has a difficult balancing act to perform to ensure he keeps all his players happy while finding the right combination which he hopes will catapult his side into top-four contention.

"As you can imagine, we've got a lot of attacking-minded players, so it's going to be trying from that point of view," he told Johannesburg's Talk Radio 702.

"But we need to make sure we understand in which direction we're going, what formation we're going to play and what we're most comfortable with."

City are top-heavy with strikers and, having loaned Brazilian Jo back to Everton for another season, Felipe Caicedo and Ched Evans are looking to leave.

Ecuador striker Caicedo has attracted interest from Sporting Lisbon while Evans is believed to be on the verge of a move to Coca-Cola Championship side Sheffield United.

Caicedo told skysports.com: "City have many forwards who have arrived this summer and they have complicated my presence.

"For me it is difficult to get in the starting XI at City and the opportunity to go to Sporting would be a personal challenge to me."

The loss of Evans, a graduate of the club's academy, would be keenly felt by City's fans but with Robinho, Craig Bellamy, Benjani Mwaruwari and Valeri Bojinov also competing for places the 20-year-old's chances appear very limited.

He would be the second young Blues prospect to leave the club after Daniel Sturridge joined Chelsea, while 22-year-old Nedum Onuoha has been attracting interest from rival clubs with Hughes still chasing England captain Terry.

However, Hughes said he is determined to hold on the England Under-21 international.

"Nedum is one of our finest young players," Hughes told the Manchester Evening News.

"He was outstanding for us last season, and I am not looking to move one of our prize assets away from City."