The 26-year-old England international marked his return to his first club with a double at Sunderland as City cruised to a deserved 3-0 victory.

Wright-Phillips struggled to command a regular place at Chelsea following his £21million move to Stamford Bridge in July 2005.

Asked if the player feels he has something to prove following his £9million return to Eastlands last week, Hughes said: "Possibly.

"Maybe when you are not playing week in, week out, you maybe have doubts about your own ability.

"Probably what has happened today will settle any worries he had in that respect.

"But certainly from my point of view, I never had any doubts that he would be a success coming back.

"To get off to such a start will calm him down and he will go from strength to strength now, I am sure."

City were leading 1-0 at the Stadium of Light courtesy of Stephen Ireland's strike in first-half injury-time when Wright-Phillips took up the baton.

He made it 2-0 with 50 minutes gone when he side-footed home Brazilian striker Jo's cross, and then doubled his tally eight minutes later with a neat finish from Michael Ball's pass over the top.

The win ended a good week for the club, who survived a midweek scare in Denmark to progress in the UEFA Cup and have confirmed the signings of Argentinian defender Pablo Zabaleta and Brazilian Glauber Berti.

Hughes said: "We have had a really good week.

"We have had two back-to-back Premier League wins, which is always difficult to do, we are still in Europe after a difficult game in midweek with extra-time as well, so it couldn't have been any better.

"It's always a nightmare when you lose a fixture just prior to a big international break because ideally, you want to keep the group together and work on issues that have resulted in the defeat.

Thankfully, we haven't got that issue. We are going away on a high and I can't wait to welcome them all back after the international break, hopefully fit and well."

For opposite number Roy Keane, who played alongside Hughes for Manchester United, there were very different emotions as he surveyed the wreckage of his best-laid plans.

He said: "We were beaten, we have to accept it and take it. It is hard to stomach, but goals change games and it is all about putting the ball in the back of the net.

"We could have played all night - I think we had one shot on target in the second half, and it is very hard for us to look at that because in certain games, we have kept going and got something towards the end.

"Whether it is going to be a long two weeks, I don't know. Maybe it is a good thing because I will be glad to see the back of one or two faces, really."