Mark Hughes says he wants to ensure Carlisle United’s players do not “hide behind systems” as they try to plot a way to survival.

The new head coach says he does not plan to impose a particular formation on his side until he has established exactly what he has to work with.

And the experienced new Blues boss says he wants players to be able to think on their feet on the pitch and not be totally reliant on him to show them the way in games.

Asked if he had a favoured system in mind, Hughes told the News & Star: “Usually I go in and see what I've got to work with.

“Do they lend themselves to a certain formation or a certain way of playing?

“That process is ongoing at the moment because I need to learn what they can and can't do.

“But formations and structure of the team are all well and good, but basically you have to have players that want to make them happen, and don't hide behind systems and aren't [always] looking across to the manager and the coach saying, ‘I wasn't sure – I thought I was with him’ or whatever.

• LISTEN: Hughes on why he took Blues job and his plan for survival

“Sometimes you've got to self-manage on the pitch, you've got to be strong enough and good enough mentally to get on with it and understand yourself.

“It is difficult when everything's flying around and you're not quite sure what's happening in the game. You've got to have that clarity of thought that enables you just to really understand what's required at that moment.

Hughes says he wants players to self-manage within games (Image: Ben Holmes)

“I'll put the onus on the players to do that. They've got to self-manage within the game. They can't constantly look for support – they've got to be able to be strong enough mentally to get on with it.”

Hughes did accept that United’s struggles this season will have put a certain psychological weight on the team.

But he hopes that a fresh start now can help lift the players and provide a reset ahead of the 18 crucial game ahead.

“It's not easy to have a situation where you find it difficult to put points on the board, so that does affect players and affects you as a person,” said Mike Williamson's successor.

“Somebody new coming in gives players an opportunity to just clear their mind, maybe, and just refocus, and say, ‘Right – this is where we start, this is the starting point, the end point is the end of the season’ and that's all they have to look forward to.”

On how the players have taken to him initially, Hughes said: “I don't know – you'll have to ask them. I think it's been positive, I think maybe they needed a different voice just coming in and a different personnel, different coaching staff. It's a different feel so they can benefit from that.

“They seem a good group. I've been told they're a good group. I expect them to be receptive to try and understand quickly what I demand of them and if they do that they'll be fine.”

• READ MORE: Hughes - "It won't be easy but it excites me"

Hughes’ arrival at Brunton Park sees him back in League Two management after his spell at Bradford City ended with the sack in October 2023.

That came with the Bantams in 18th, after he had led them to the play-offs in the previous campaign, Bradford ultimately losing to Carlisle in the 2022/23 semi-finals.

Hughes says he has learned certain things from his previous League Two spell at Bradford (Image: Richard Parkes)

Hughes feels he will be better prepared for fourth-tier management this time after admitting he was not greatly familiar with the level upon his appointment at Valley Parade in 2022.

Asked what specifically he took away from his experience with the Bantams, he said: “Many things – I think it's understanding that sometimes you have to accept that sometimes you can be doing exceptionally well in the game and really be on the front foot, and then all of a sudden somebody boots the ball and clears the lines and hits somebody on the backside and flies into your goal when you've been in total dominance.

“That can happen in League Two. Those things do and will happen and you've just got to accept it and understand that's the level, but don't let it affect you too adversely that you go under and think nothing's going to work for you.

“You’ve got to keep on doing the right things and if you do them on a consistent basis at a good level then things will turn for you.”

Hughes, in his first press conference, says he would like to be at Carlisle for “longer [than this season] if I can.”

But he said that only by getting the immediate task right can anyone begin to contemplate that.

“I think we all have to focus on what's ahead of us in that short term at the moment,” he said.

“Because of that, that focus has to be really intense on what we need to do.

“I'm looking forward to it. You shouldn't be fearful of it. I think everybody needs to embrace it – players, staff, coaches, certainly the fans as well.

“It's not going to be a road without bumps but we've just got to ride them and come out the other side in the right way.”

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