Hughes hopes to harness fan power as Blues reign begins today
Mark Hughes says he wants to harness the power of Carlisle United’s fans as his survival mission starts today.
The new Blues head coach takes charge of his first game at Grimsby Town (Blundell Park, 3pm).
Hughes and the Cumbrians are hoping for an instant boost following his arrival as Mike Williamson’s successor.
And the 61-year-old boss knows from experience how potent the Blue Army can be, having witnessed United’s fans in full cry during 2023’s play-off semi-final second leg when he was with Bradford City.
“Even though on the day the result went against my team I actually loved the occasion,” Hughes told the News & Star.
“I thought it was great. It was a proper football game with proper emotion surrounding it – so let's see if we can create those atmospheres again.
“We've got to give the fans something to cheer and that's been in short supply this season.
“We've got to turn that around and get everybody on board again and see where that takes us. It's amazing what everybody pushing in the right direction can do.”
United start Hughes’ tenure five points from safety at the bottom of League Two and on the travelling support expected in Cleethorpes today, the head coach added: “All the staff have said the away support is fantastic, so that will be important for us.”
Hughes hopes United can benefit from a “new manager bounce” today, adding of his first game at the helm: “It goes without saying, we need to win as quickly as we can and if we can start [this weekend] that would be great for us.”
Hughes' reign starts at Grimsby's Blundell Park today (Image: Richard Parkes)
Carlisle’s new boss cannot call upon Jordan Jones today with the wide man suspended following last weekend’s red card in the 5-1 defeat to Swindon Town.
Stephen Wearne could return from illness against his former club as Hughes tries to start on a solid footing with the Blues.
“There are no guarantees in football, you've just got to give your best shot,” he added.
“That's why I'm here, that's why Glyn Hodges, my assistant is here. We're up for the challenge, we're ready to go.
“Everybody needs to get on the train for want of a better cliché, and understand where we're trying to take it.
“We can't have any passengers in terms of people not sure about what we're going to do. Everybody's got to very quickly understand that it's going to be difficult but if the players, staff and most importantly the fans all come together and we've got a great chance.
“They're a good group of players. I sense they're going to be receptive to maybe different messages or messages given in a different way.
“I'm sure if they take the benefit of my knowledge and circumstances as well, I think we can do something really special here.
“I think there may be people that doubt that we can get out of this situation. I don't. I have a real feeling that we can do it. But we need to start winning quickly and that starts this weekend.”
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