HUGHES BACK ON PARADE... AND BUZZING

MARK HUGHES ends three years in the football wilderness insisting he will still get the same buzz taking on Mansfield as he did in his last game in charge – against Manchester United.

He has signed a two-and-a-half year deal with League Two side Bradford City and his first game is against the Stags at Valley Parade today.

The Bantams are 15th in the table - 10 points behind Nigel Clough’s visitors who occupy the final play-off position.

It is a step into the unknown for the Welshman, who has only ever managed Premier League clubs and his country.

“I’ll have the same excitement as back then, absolutely,” said Hughes (above), who was Southampton boss when they held Jose Mourinho’s United to a 2-2 draw on December 1, 2018. He was fired two days later with Saints in 18th place.

“I’ve just mentioned to the guys that as a player and a manager the week building up to a game is good, being on the grass and organising things, but the best thing is the match itself.

“It’s turning up there, seeing the crowd build and it’s the thing I miss the most, without a shadow of a doubt.”

Hughes, 58, admits he does not know much about his new charges and even less about the fourth tier - but has a burning desire to restore his managerial reputation by dragging Bradford to a better place.

He takes over from Derek Adams (above), who taunted the club days before his dismissal by saying they would not get a better boss than him at this level.

Hughes said: “It’s happened very quickly, but all the information is out there and anything I need to know, I can find out very quickly.

“This is a club I would like to put my mark on in terms of driving them forward from the low ebb they’re at right now.

“It is very easy to research the players. I had the opportunity to pay attention to the game in midweek and that was one of the reasons behind my decision, that I felt there were a group who weren’t maximising their potential.”

Hughes joked that his wife Jill had enough of him being around the house and encouraged him to end his extended break from the game.

“My son, Alex, is my representative and his mum had been telling him that he needed to go and get his dad a job somewhere,” he said. “I think she’s quite happy with the situation.”