The Friday Feature: The Life Of Bryan Is About Wrexham Now

It’s been another turbulent week at the Racecourse Ground after Graham Barrow’s sudden resignation - and his replacement was confirmed little over 12 hours later.

Hughes, a former Red Dragons player, sits in the dugout for the first time on Saturday as the club host Dagenham & Redbridge.

He says he couldn’t have picked a more compelling time to step in with the club just four points behind leaders Leyton Orient.

In his press conference on Thursday, Hughes said: “I’m really excited. It’s a club that is a special place for me personally.

“I started my career here all those years ago and put my foundations in for me to build my career going forward.

“Going forward now as manager, it’s exciting times.

“The team is sitting healthy in the league and it’s quite a privileged opportunity for me.

“Usually when clubs change their managers it’s when teams aren’t doing too well but I’m very fortunate to come in in a healthy position.

“But the critical part of the season is the next 15 games. I want to make sure I continue the hard work that’s gone on before from Sam [Ricketts] and Graham [Barrow].

“The last thing I want to do is give them a whole new philosophy and game plan with 15 games to go. I’m not stupid enough to do that.”

Hughes doesn’t fear promotion demands and ahead of his bow this weekend he told the fans what they can expect.

“It’s an exciting challenge, that’s why I’m here. I want to test myself and test the players and make sure we get the right formula to take the club forward,” he said.

“I’m not phased by high expectations, I wouldn’t be here if I was. It’s the expectation level to get promoted and get out of this league now.

“That’s only natural and it’s my job to keep the players grounded. We’ve got 15 games to go and it’s about getting enough points to win the league or make the play-offs and that’s going to be the focus now.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for me, coming into top club that’s in such a healthy position.

“You don’t get these opportunities.

“It’s important to reflect on how well we are doing. I’m not going to come in and make too many changes but there’s a long-term vision in terms of how I want to play.

“I want the players to play with freedom and express themselves. I don’t want them to play with any pressure, especially when they go into that final third and I’m sure the fans will enjoy that.”

Hughes added: “It’s fantastic to come back, it’s changed slightly since I was last here and I’m very excited to walk out as manager in front of the fans.

“The fans have a massive part to play. We’re all in this together and I want to build unity.

“I’ll deal with the pressure, I’m going to try and take that off the players because I want them to be fully focused on the remainder of the season.”