Mark Hughes insists the timing was right to make his return to football management with Carlisle United.
The ex-Manchester City boss took charge of the Football League’s bottom club earlier this month after a 15-month sabbatical.
Hughes has been tasked with arguably his toughest managerial mission with Carlisle currently five-points from safety with 14 games left to play.
Former Wales striker Hughes is still searching for his first win in charge of the Cumbrians having lost his first two games before registering back-to-back goalless draws.
Carlisle’s precarious position has not deterred Hughes from climbing back into the rigours of club management and the Welshman admits that the club’s current plight is new territory for him.
“I view it as the challenge that it is. Obviously, we’re bottom of the Football League,” Hughes told talkSPORT.
“I’ve been in relegation battles before in previous teams but haven’t actually been at the bottom of the league, so it is new for me.
“It was an opportunity for me to come in and help the club, they’re in a difficult situation that they want to get out of.
“The question was asked would you come in and help and it just appealed to me at the right time.”
Asked what his first task was upon arriving at the club, Hughes gave an interesting insight into the sequential methods of bedding himself and his coaching team into their new surroundings.
“First and foremost you need to get an understanding of what’s been going on beforehand, what problems they’ve had and where they were falling down in terms of results and the thinking behind what we could do to affect that,” he explained.
“The players have been excellent in terms of trying to embrace what we’re trying to do. We’re obviously still waiting for our first win so the new manager’s bounce needs to happen a little bit more quickly than it has done up until now.
GettyHughes is yet to pick up his first win as Carlisle boss but remains optimistic he can guide his team to safety[/caption]
“I have to say the play has been good,” Hughes added. “We’re lacking at the top end of the pitch in terms of taking the chances we’ve created.
“I’ve been happy enough with the quality I’ve found and that’s always a bonus. Sometimes you can come into a club and think we haven’t got enough to get out of this situation but that’s not the case here.
“If we get the run of the ball and get our noses in front, I think we’ve got good enough players here to redeem the situation we’ve found ourselves in.”
The bulk of Hughes’ managerial career has taken place in the Premier League with spells in charge of Blackburn, Fulham, Stoke, Southampton and QPR.
His first venture outside of the top flight came in his previous role at League Two side Bradford City, which ended in October 2023.
Now aged 61, and with the opportunity to once again manage in the Premier League realistically behind him, Hughes admits he still has a burning desire to continue in football.
“It’s what I do and what I have done for a long time,” Hughes said. “I’ve had breaks (in the past) and I have done in recent times where I feel that maybe I’m done.
“The reality is that football retires you, you don’t really retire from football. It came to a point where I was ready to go back in again. I’ve still got the energy, I feel good and I’m fit enough to do it.”
