Hughes insists players are joining Manchester City to win medals

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes insists players are coming to Eastlands for the prospect of medals, not big money.

And he claims the club will not pay transfer fees above the odds as their blistering recruitment drive gathers pace.

City have made six major signings in the transfer window - Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz, Gareth Barry and Stuart Taylor - with the probability of more to follow.

Hughes said: "We would like to think we have something different, something players can understand.

"Once we get the opportunity to speak to them, they very quickly get as excited as we are about what could happen at this club in the future.

"It is about sitting down in front of these top players and telling them what we know will happen.

"These guys are all wealthy individuals. It's not about money at this level but about ambition, stimulation and giving them something to be really excited about, and we offer that at the moment."

City are debating whether to make an improved offer for Everton defender Joleon Lescott but Hughes said: "We have already walked away from situations where we feel our worth and the value we place on players has been exceeded.

"It is about getting quality players through the door and that is what we have been able to do."

Former Arsenal defender Toure believes City's spending power is making managers nervous.

He said: "You see people talking because they don't know what to expect. But it depends on us now, and we don't have to think about the others any more.

"When things are going well, and people are really happy, and say 'Yeah, blah, blah, blah, it's good'.

"But when things are not good, they start talking. But we can't expect anything from the others - we need to focus on what we need to do.

"We are going to have some hard days and some good days as well. We know what to expect. We are intelligent enough to know what to do. If we work hard and are as professional we can, we can get there."