We spoke to Mark Hughes following the announcement that he would remain at Brunton Park.
Speaking to CUTV, Mark said: “Everybody just had to be a little bit patient. Obviously, there’s been a lot of changes at the club in terms of behind-the-scenes. But yeah, I was more than comfortable with it.
“I knew what was going on, I was fully informed. So yeah, there were a few things from my side, but those were pretty straightforward.”
We asked Mark how his discussions with Tom Piatak had gone, to which he responded: “Very good.
“I think we've been honest in the discussions, and obviously he understood where I was coming from. We talked about what happened last year and what we need to do this year. So yeah, it's a case of doing everything we can to make sure we get back up.”
Hughes confirmed that Glyn Hodges would remain alongside him, and on other backroom staff, he responded: “That'll be resolved.
“Like I said, we're looking at every area, but there won't be too many changes in my group.”
Marc Tierney was recently appointed as Head of Football Operations, the gaffer spoke about him and their early contact, saying: “I’ve not come across him before, but I've had a number of meetings with Marc since his appointment, and yeah, I think he comes across as very proactive.
“He wants to get things done, change things around, and yeah, someone I'm sure I can work with.”
“There's similarities [between the Sporting DIrector and Head of Football Operations role]. My line of communication is Nigel [Clibbens] and Tom [Piatak], but in terms of the football side, obviously I'll be working very, very closely with Marc.
“He's there to run the operations and make sure everything's in place to enable the team to function at its best level. That helps with myself in terms of any resources I need or any detail that I need in terms of preparation for the team or whatever. That can be sourced by Marc, and the key one clearly is recruitment, so we've got to get that one right this time.”
Speaking on his involvement with the released and retained list, Mark explained: “I was fully engaged in it.
“It was just a case of timing from my point of view. I wasn't able to really put my name to it because I didn't think that was right. Obviously, I wasn't confirmed in terms of next year at that point, but I knew what was going on clearly.
“At the end of the season, there's always a turn of players, and players leave, some players decide to leave, some of which are players we would like to stay, but maybe feel that their future is elsewhere.
“But we can have those conversations, and then come the beginning of the season, we'll know exactly where we stand.”
Speaking on specific players, Mark began by speaking highly of Jack Ellis, who had an extension triggered to keep him at Brunton Park for the 2025/26 season.
“Jack did really well.
“I just thought he really embraced everything that was going on at the time. It was a difficult situation, but it didn't faze him. He came in, did his job, and yeah, we're pleased that he's committed his future to us again.
“He's obviously somebody who's got an empathy for the club, and that's something that we need as well, right through the squad.
“He offers us a lot of flexibility in a number of positions, and that's going to help.
“We're not going to carry as many players as we did last year, so having players that can play in a number of roles is going to help me.”
After a bit of a delay, a deal was also confirmed with Jake Allan, Mark spoke on him, saying:
“That was just because of the circumstances at the club.
“I'd seen him, obviously, when he joined the first team on a number of occasions last year. We were always impressed with how he integrated with the group.
“Whenever he was involved, the standard didn't drop, so that's a good indicator of a young player that can deal with it. So yeah, we're pleased that we can continue to help him in his career.”
On progress with Matthew Dennis and Kadeem Harris, who were both offered new deals, Mark said: “We'll have to be patient on them.
“Players are well within their rights to keep their options open, but we've indicated we'd like them to stay if we can do something. Certainly, we'll be speaking to them from now to the beginning of this season. And yeah, we're hopeful, but these things change very, very quickly and circumstances change.
“We've just got to be ready to act if we need to.”
Mark told us that players had the opportunity to start fresh in pre-season, including those who didn’t feature heavily last season.
“Well, everybody will be back. It's up to them to catch my eye.
“It was a little bit difficult for a number of them last year. In the end I had to just go with what I felt was the guys that were robust and good enough in terms technicality and mentally to get the job done. We came up short, but I think the decisions I made were correct at the time.
“There's a good opportunity now, we've got a whole pre-season, which is something that I didn't have with the group.
“I know them a lot better than I did initially. So some of the guys that maybe feel a little bit hard done by will certainly have an opportunity to change my mind and come into my thinking.”
Following the conclusion of the season, Mark had time to reflect, he discussed his main learnings from a tough campaign, stating: “I think we showed certainly towards the end that when we're all on the same page and we're all working exceptionally hard for each other, then we could get good results.
“Unfortunately, we didn't quite get as many as we'd hoped, but we were playing exceptionally well towards the end of the year. Unfortunately, the teams in and around us were going on runs as well themselves.
“So that ordinarily doesn't happen. Usually you see teams really struggle with the form and find it difficult to win. The teams around us and above us just went on similar runs to what we had.
“So it was difficult to close that gap. But I think everybody saw the potential of the group. And like I said, the majority of them are contracted again, so that's probably an advantage going into a different league.”
On potential new additions, Mark said: “Those conversations have been going on for some time. So, yeah, I think we're talking on a regular basis in terms of what we need. Clearly, players are moving around.
“A lot of them want to get settled before they actually go off on holidays. And they want to know where they're going to go and they can relax and come back refreshed and ready to go. So some of the deals we need to be up to speed with and ready to act.
“Others are more content just seeing what's out there and biding their time, hoping that at times possibly some clubs at a higher level will come in for them. Sometimes towards the end of the situation, when they realise that maybe those opportunities aren't going to present themselves. You get a lot of good players that become available later in pre-season. Then it's about just making sure you're ready to go if those types of players become available.”
With more relaxed transfer rules in the National League, Mark was positive about the opportunity to utilise them, saying: “It helps. And that's a bit of the thinking on why we feel more comfortable going in with less numbers in the squad because we know we can go into the market when we feel necessary. If we do get injuries, two or three injuries in the same position. So that's reassuring in terms of the numbers that we'll carry.”
On pre-season plans, Mark said: “That's pretty much signed off now. We know where we're going. We've got a couple of updates in terms of matches, but for the most part, it's pretty much signed off.
“We should get away just as a group for a number of days. So yeah, we'll wait to confirm that. But yeah, I'm quite comfortable with the pre-season.
“We've already mentioned other players who want to start strongly to make a claim to be involved more so than they were last year. Others who played lots of games who were just trying to consolidate their own position. But more so, it just gives a chance just to set the real culture around the club and what I really expect sometimes.
“Last year, given our circumstances, I had to sometimes compromise some of my feelings in certain regards just because of the situation where we just had to try and keep everybody on board. So those situations will be resolved possibly in different ways this year because right from the outset, we'll set the rules, regulations, boundaries, and all the standards that we expect everybody to adhere to, both in behaviour and in terms of their own physical wellbeing.
“We're going to be very strong in terms of fitness this year. So that's going to be really important for us. So those standards will have to be very high next year.”
We asked Mark what he expected from the National League, in comparison to League Two, he answered: “There are good teams there. But I think we shouldn't be afraid. I think everybody's saying, oh, National League is this, National League is that. It's different. My view is that we'll be one of the stronger teams in the league. I think that's a given.
“We've just got to make sure that we're not caught out on any given day. But if we do everything we know we're capable of in terms of preparation, which we always do very well, and make sure physically that we're right at the peak of our powers, then a lot of the teams won't be able to deal with that. So I think it's just about making sure we do the fundamentals really well and then success follows from that.”
Finally, Mark spoke on the fans and the part they played in his decision to stay at Brunton Park, saying: “It was a big factor in myself and Glyn deciding to stay, obviously, because the support we've had has been remarkable, really.
“I think what really tipped it my way in terms of my decision was the last day. Obviously, we played well on the day, but the reality was seven days before, we'd been relegated. So for us to have that reception after the game was unprecedented.
“There's not many clubs that could have fans like that, that would react in that way, given what happened during the season. So yeah, we owe them in that regard.
“We've got to give them something to cheer for next year.”
