Manchester United weaker without Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, says Mark Hughes

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes believes Manchester United are a shadow of their former selves after Sir Alex Ferguson failed to replace Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez this summer.

Weaker without them: Mark Hughes believes United are not the side they once were following the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez

Ahead of this weekend's Manchester derby, Hughes has laughed off Ferguson's accusations of City being a cocky side by saying the Scot's insults are a "form of flattery".

With United playing what Hughes describes as "below par" football, the 45-year-old says Ferguson stands to regret not bringing in more new faces in the summer transfer window.

"United have lost two significant players from last season," Hughes told the Sun. "Any team would be affected by that. But you can't afford to lose players of that standard and not replace them - and I don't think they have replaced them.

"I've watched a number of their games and I don't think they're playing as well as they did last season.

"They played well at Spurs last weekend, that was their stand-out performance, but prior to that I think they've been below par."

"We're here, we're not going away any time soon. We're here to make a challenge."

Earlier this week, Ferguson labelled City as a 'small club with a small mentality' following the unveiling of a billboard which projected the message 'Welcome to Manchester' across an image of Carlos Tévez, who turned down a five-year contract at Old Trafford before completing his £25.5m move to the Eastlands.

In reaction to Ferguson's comments, Hughes added: "The poster does seem to have really upset Sir Alex for some reason.

"We just take it as a bit of flattery because for a number of years City haven't affected United's thinking to any great extent. Possibly that's changed now.

"I'm sure Sir Alex is sick and tired of people sticking a microphone under his nose and asking him about us rather than United.

"That hasn't happened in recent years and I can understand why he gets a little bit irritated, but its quite amusing from my point of view."