HUGHES COULD BE CALLING IT A DAY:
FOR Aaron Hughes it started in 1998 as an 18-year-old substitute playing for Newcastle against Barcelona at the Nou Camp in the Champions League and it could end with a Scottish Premiership match in May for Hearts.
The veteran defender, who has become such a popular figure at Tynecastle, has admitted he may hang up his boots in the summer.
Speaking before going off injured after only 18 minutes in Northern Ireland’s 2-1 win at home to South Korea yesterday, Hughes, 38, told how moving to Hearts in January last year prolonged a career that has seen him win over 100 caps, three of which came at the Euro 2016 finals, play under Kenny Dalglish, Ruud Gullit, Bobby Robson and Graeme Souness at Newcastle, feature for Martin O’Neill at Aston Villa, reach a Europa League final with Fulham and play in Australia and India.
There have been many, many big games over those two decades and he rates Edinburgh derbies as amongst the most enjoyable to play in.
With Craig Levein and Neil Lennon, who played in Hughes’ first international against Slovakia exactly 20 years ago today, at the helm, games between Hearts and Hibs have seemed even spicier than usual.
‘I knew there was a big rivalry so this season hasn’t been a shock to me,’ said Hughes, who is 39 in November. ‘Last season we drew them in the Cup so quite early on I got a taste of it both at home and away because the game went to a replay.
‘In the city it’s very much one side or the other. No one is in the middle. That’s what happens when you get two teams in one city. The games are feisty, fiery and lively and there is a big buildup to them. You can sense in the city a few weeks before that they are coming up and they are really enjoyable to be involved in.’
‘After the Euros I wanted to continue playing and to come back to the UK,’ said the man from Cookstown, County Tyrone.
‘When I came back from India I had no idea where I was going to end up and landed on my feet and got a good club in Hearts who play at a good level that allowed me to continue playing for Northern Ireland.
‘This season it’s been great to get a run in the team over the last four months. Playing for Hearts also helped me get over the disappointment of what happened in November when we lost in the World Cup playoffs.’
If Hughes is savouring his time with club and country, there is still a chance that at the end of this season he will walk away from Hearts, Northern Ireland and playing football altogether.
‘There’s still three months of the season left. That’s why it is hard to make a decision right now,’ he admitted. ‘My mind changes so much. One day I get up and I think I can keep going forever and other days I think it may be time and that I’ve had enough.
‘I’m trying not to think too much about it and I’m trying to enjoy my club football, being fit and having the chance to play for Northern Ireland. Once I get to the end of the season I’ll sit down and make a decision.
‘My decision to play on next season won’t just be based on playing on for Hearts or Northern Ireland. My decision is whether or not to actually continue to play football.
‘If Hearts come and offer me next year or whatever, it won’t make it easier. If anything, it will make it harder. The easiest thing would be if they say you are not getting another contract and then I won’t be playing for Northern Ireland any more and I don’t have to make a decision whereas if I’m on the fence and someone goes there’s another year I’ll be like what do I do here?’
Hughes has retired before — from international football in 2011. He was back within six months with the then new boss Michael O’Neill persuading him to give it another shot.
‘When I first retired I was playing Premier League football week in week out,’ he said. ‘That’s as tough mentally as physically. I was coming away with Northern Ireland, which I loved doing, but it got to the point where I was thinking: “I can’t do this any more” because I didn’t know if anything was ever going to change,’ said Hughes.
‘It was starting to drain me a bit. We kept turning up, doing the same things and making the same mistakes, failing when we should have really been winning and I felt I had to concentrate on my club football.
‘Then Michael came in. He not only brought in a confidence, a change in mentality and belief, but how we would do it.
‘He addressed all the things I felt needed changed and obviously I’ve very glad that I made that decision because we went on to qualify for the Euros and we were close to reaching a World Cup.’