'Delighted' - Hull City ace aiming to continue impressive rise as he sets key challenge

Charlie Hughes says the time is now for Hull City to kick-start their stuttering Championship campaign as they prepare to head into the busiest period of the season.

The November international break is over and City head into arguably their biggest game of the season at Luton Town on Saturday looking to put distance between themselves and the relegation zone.

City went into the break with a fourth loss in a seven-game winless run at home to West Brom, a result which left them just two places above the drop zone but level on points Cardiff City, who occupy the final spot.

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Saturday's opponents, Luton, are also mired in bother, like City, and are two places below the Tigers after a 5-1 thrashing at Middlesbrough before the break.

For his part, Hughes has come into the team and performed well, winning the club's Player of the Month for October after coming into the team in the second half of the 4-0 defeat at Norwich City and playing in all six games since the last international window, but says while personal accolades are nice, Tim Walter's team simply have to start adding to their three wins this season.

"It's a proud moment for me, in my first month of playing. I'm delighted to be in the team and playing games, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season. My focus and the team's focus is to win games, so it's nice to win the award, but our focus is to start winning games now," he told Tigers+.

"I think the performances were there, but we didn't get the results that we wanted, but we had some good performances. Now it's just the time to turn the performances into results and get points on the board."

Hughes has built an encouraging relationship alongside Alfie Jones, who has spoken glowingly of the 21-year-old former Wigan Athletic star, with his progress coming at the expense of Sean McLoughlin. The Irishman has found himself sidelined since Carrow Road in early October.

Despite that, however, Hughes has praised McLoughlin for the way he's welcomed the ex-Latics defender and helped him become accustomed to Walter's style of play.

"Coming here, I knew it would be tough to get into the side with Alfie and Sean - the two of them couldn't have been any better since I arrived; I've learned from both of them. They're great players and even better lads. When I first came in, they both helped me, they both gave me advice about the style of play we play now. A big shout-out to them, really, because they helped settle me in.

"Playing the way we play, they gave me a lot of help. It was tough knowing I was coming into this with two great players ahead of me, - the whole team have made me feel welcome from the start.

"I've had some good performances in October, though they're now behind me. It's just to focus on the rest of the season, and it's about getting results with the team and enjoying winning."