Mark Hughes has paid a heartfelt tribute to City's fans for their support during this season's UEFA Cup campaign.

Our European odyssey came to a battling conclusion on Thursday night, but along the way the 16-game run took in stops right across Europe.

It didn’t matter whether it was in the Faroes in summer, Cyprus in autumn or Denmark in the depths of winter - Blues fans moved heaven and earth to get there and back their side in passionate and good-humoured style. A dozen even tried to make it to the EB/Streymur away game by hiring a trawler, and it’s just this kind of support that the boss says helped the squad on their travels.

Mark says, “The away support was immense, and I think that they enjoyed the journey as much as we have.

“It was a long and varied adventure that went to some interesting places along the way, but we always had a great complement of fans that followed us far and wide. It was much appreciated by myself and everyone connected to the first team.

“The atmosphere on Thursday was amazing, and the fans were absolutely fantastic. We want more nights like this, and I fully expect us to have them in the future.”