The 24-year-old Brazilian inspired Manchester City in their 6-0 hammering of Portsmouth on Sunday, and scored his second goal in three games since joining from Real Madrid.

City manager Hughes, who has been promised time to achieve success by City's hugely wealthy new owners from Abu Dhabi, has been delighted with Robinho's impact.

Hughes said: "Robinho is not only technically an outstanding player but he has got a great work ethic as well and he understands the game.

"He understands how he can affect the game in the right way and he picks the right passes at right time, and I think that has been key to his performances."

Meanwhile, the club's new chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak insists he can help unlock City's hidden potential.

The 32-year-old businessman has been installed as chairman by the new owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who formally takes over the club on Tuesday, and he was at Eastlands on Sunday to witness the win over Portsmouth.

Al Mubarak said: "We are looking towards the long-term development of Manchester City.

"The club boasts three foundation assets that are hard to ignore - its unique and passionate fan base, a strong management team and an academy that is arguably the best in the country.

"There is a huge potential to build on these assets to ensure the club achieves the ultimate levels of success."

Apart from Robinho, the pick of the players against Portsmouth was Stephen Ireland, and the midfielder said he has developed an immediate understanding with the Brazilian - even if they can't speak the same language.

He also highlighted the influence of Vincent Kompany, the 22-year-old Belgian who now occupies the holding role in midfield.

Ireland told www.mcfc.co.uk: "Robinho does not speak fluent English, but I've had chats with him and it's all about getting the right understanding between each other.

"You can see that it's clicking out there with the movement and the passing out on the pitch.

"Vincent is crucial to us as well. He's very experienced, if you look at his record he did a lot at an early age, he's had a few moves and has built up some miles on the clock for his age.

"There's an old head on his shoulders which is important in that sitting role that he has.

"We're ecstatic, we're on a high, we're buzzing and we are really looking forward to our next few games coming up with the form that we are in.

"At the moment we feel we are invincible, we are going from strength to strength and we're in great form."