ABOVE: Mark Hughes has benefited for a chat with Sir Alex Ferguson
I really enjoyed that and I’m glad I did it because I was not aware he was going to jack it in.
Mark Hughes on his chat with Sir Alex Ferguson
MARK HUGHES has revealed how a session with “The Hairdryer” helped give him the spark to relight his managerial flame.
Hughes, who gave his old Man United boss Sir
Alex Ferguson the nickname for his fiery blasts, had been kicking his
heels in his six-month exile after being sacked by QPR.
He had been through a difficult 11-month spell at Loftus Road, winning only eight out of 34 games in charge.
And
the man known as Sparky was bitterly criticised, his management skills
questioned – and he admits he fought the demons of self-doubt.
But
his face-to-face chat with Sir Alex left him determined to prove the
snipers wrong. And Hughes, 49, feels he can now prove that as Stoke
City’s new boss.
He
said: “It was difficult but I had the opportunity of going to speak to
Sir Alex for an hour, which I have not done for many years.
“I really enjoyed that and I’m glad I did it because I was not aware he was going to jack it in.
“I
had asked to see him. I met him at a league managers’ get-together back
in early January and asked if it was possible to pop in and have a
sit-down chat.
“I knew he would agree to it because he is always very open like that. I’m really pleased that I did.
“I
don’t want to go into specifics. We had a general chat about football.
A few things came out. I was just really pleased to be in his company.
“It’s something I should have done on more occasions than I did in the past. I did it and understood the value that it gave me.
“Yes another mistake – I should have done it more often.”
Whatever
was said in that private meeting, Ferguson’s words of wisdom on the
game he was about to leave, had the desired effect.
So did Hughes leave the chat room with a spring in his step?
He
added: “Yeah. Yes. I just enjoy his company really. If he has given
you time he is great company and that will never change.”
Hughes is delighted to be back in business.
And
with the strong Stoke squad he inherits from outgoing Tony Pulis, he
believes he can take the club forward in leaps and bounds.
He
has been handed a three-year deal and cannot wait to get started, meet
his new players and hit the ground running at the start of next
season.
Time
then to banish the blues of even daring to doubt your own ability.
Hughes said: “At times you have self doubt but you have to be strong in
your own mind.
“You need to remind yourself what you achieved.
“Not only as a player but also as a manager. And that keeps you in good stead.
Hughes,
who had two spells at United as a player, plus stints with Barcelona
and Bayern Munich before playing for Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers,
said: “All my career has been at the top level. And the experiences
enable me to operate as I do.
“There are moments when you question your decision making.
“Sometimes you make good sound decisions and sometimes with hindsight they are completely wrong.
“As long as you can recognise that and learn from it, you move forward as a person and a manager.”
So, is it nerve-wracking for Hughes to be back in the hotseat?
Not half as nerve-wracking as yesterday’s family wedding.
Hughes said: “I have a speech to write for my son’s wedding and I haven’t done it.
“It’s all happening at once. But it’s going to be great.”
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