Manchester City boss Mark Hughes believes Craig Bellamy has shaken off the 'bad boy' image which marred his early career.

The fiery Welsh striker has courted controversy throughout his career - often making headlines for the wrong reasons during spells at Norwich, Newcastle and Liverpool.

However, Bellamy has taken a more mature approach to his football over recent years, firstly at West Ham and now at City, and is arguably enjoying his most productive spell under the guidence of Hughes.

And the  City boss is happy to pile praise on a man who has all too often been publicly lambasted.

Speaking in the News of the World he said "The perception of Craig for too long has been too negative.

"He'll admit himself that at times he's let himself down.

"What has never been in question was his ability, and because of the focus on City he now has a platform to allow people to understand what a good player he is.

"I've worked with him before at Wales and Blackburn and he was outstanding for me.

"But because of the lack of focus on his efforts there, his performances were not flagged up as they should have been."