Mark Hughes insisted that Dunne was not forced out of the club

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has defended executive chairman Garry Cook in the wake of Richard Dunne's exit.

The Republic of Ireland star accused Cook of trying to sell him behind his back and claimed he was ignorant of the "core loyalty" in football.

But Hughes said: "It is a little bit unfair to highlight Garry and his perceived role in discussions.

"It was Richard's decision to sign for Villa and it was not as if he was forced out of the club."

Dunne, who spent nine years at City before his move last month, is set to make his Villa debut in Sunday's derby with Birmingham at St Andrew's.

City spent £118m in the summer transfer window on the likes of Carlos Tevez, Gareth Barry, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure and Joleon Lescott.

But they told Dunne they had to sell him, for a fee of £6m, to balance the books, with the Irishman disappointed at the manner of his departure from Eastlands.

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