The Manchester City fans' patience with manager Mark Hughes seemed to finally run out this weekend after the Sky Blues boss dropped £34m Brazilian star Robinho for his side's 3-1 defeat to Fulham at Eastlands.

City's sixth home defeat of the season followed on from a 3-1 loss against Hamburg in the UEFA Cup and with the club looking unlikely to be playing in Europe next season Hughes is clinging on to his job by a thread, according to the Daily Mirror.

The decision to omit Robinho, the club's top scorer, for the defeat against Fulham prompted the normally loyal fans to chant ‘you don't know what you're doing' and 'what the f*** is going on' as City threw away a 1-0 lead.

Hughes defended his gamble on Robinho in the Daily Mail and said: "It was the right thing to do as he has not had a rest and this was the first opportunity I have had to give him one.

"I had the option of using Martin Petrov for the first time in a long while.

"I’m trying to protect players that have carried the workload all season. Robbie has had a great first season but he needed a break."

The Times has some sympathy with Hughes and point out that when Robinho was finally introduced with 26 minutes remaining his contribution was negligible.

The newspaper also speculate that it will be the player, who has not scored in 15 matches, who will be offloaded in the summer and not the manager, who retains the backing of owner Sheikh Mansour.

Meanwhile, The Sun report that Obafemi Martins' Newcastle United future is in the balance after his late withdrawal from the relegation clash at Stoke City at the weekend.

Toon boss Alan Shearer will read the riot act to the Nigerian striker after he pulled out of the 1-1 draw with a groin injury.

Shearer said: "I wasn't too happy I got the call at 11 o'clock, particularly after we trained all Thursday and Friday and had massages on Friday evening and there was no sign of it."

In Champions League news Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has told the Daily Express that Chelsea should not to take their passage into the semi-finals for granted because the Reds are plotting another stunning European comeback, from 3-1 down.

Torres said: "We know it will be very difficult. They are a strong team, but we have confidence we can do it and we have to go there to win the game."

Manager Rafael Benitez expects to be able to restore inspirational skipper Steven Gerrard to the starting line up after he was rested for the 4-0 win against Blackburn Rovers at the weekend with a groin injury, according to The Independent.

And finally... Aston Villa and Everton have all but conceded defeat in their pursuit of Champions League football, according to The Guardian, after their 3-3 draw prompted managers Martin O'Neill and David Moyes to admit that catching Arsenal and finishing fourth looks beyond them.