Wrexham Born in
Liverpool,
Merseyside, Hughes initially made his name at
Wrexham, guiding them to the
FA Cup quarter finals in
1996–97 with the goals he scored on that cup run. It was his performances in the FA Cup for Wrexham that caught the attention of
Birmingham City. Hughes scored against
Colwyn Bay,
Scunthorpe United,
West Ham United and Birmingham before the Welsh outfit bowed out to
Chesterfield.
Birmingham City Hughes made a total of 293 appearances for the Blues, scoring 42 goals, and was an essential part of
Steve Bruce's side's
playoff-winning
season in 2002, and their first and second seasons in the
Premier League, before his switch to south-east London. Having rejected a new deal with Birmingham, in July 2004 he moved to
Charlton Athletic, signing a three-year contract.
Charlton Athletic Hughes made his debut for Charlton against
Bolton Wanderers on 14 August 2004, He bagged a brace in a 4–1 FA Cup win over
Rochdale at
The Valley in January 2005his first goals for the cluband scored for the Addicks in a victory over
Yeovil Town in the fourth round. He made 40 appearances in total for Charlton, and scored five goals. However, he played less often for Charlton during the
2006–07 season, making 27 appearances and only scoring once
Hull City Hughes joined
Championship club
Hull City on a free transfer from Charlton Athletic on a three-year deal on 29 June 2007, He made his Hull debut in a 3–2 defeat against
Plymouth Argyle on 11 August, and scored his first league goal for the Tigers in a 5–0 win against
Southampton on 15 March 2008. He did not play as often in the next season in the Premier League, making only eight appearances. and made three appearances before returning to Hull.
Burton Albion After trials with Championship club
Cardiff City,
Huddersfield Town, and
Walsall, Hughes signed a one-month deal with
Football League Two club
Burton Albion on 14 December 2010. He made his debut on 1 January 2011 in a 1–1 home draw with
Shrewsbury Town in which he was substituted in the 56th minute by
Aaron Webster. That was his only appearance for the club, and he left when his contract expired. Hughes signed for the club on 31 January 2011 until the end of the season. He made his debut the next day in a 2–2 away draw with
Southport.
ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar In 2011, Hughes joined Icelandic club
ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar, who were playing in the
UEFA Europa League that season.
Accrington Stanley On 27 October 2011, Hughes joined League Two club
Accrington Stanley on non-contract terms. Assigned
squad number 27, he made his Stanley debut in a 2–1 win over
Bristol Rovers on 5 November. On 10 December, Hughes set up
Pádraig Amond's opening goal as Stanley beat
AFC Wimbledon 2–0. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 victory over
Torquay United on 17 Decemberhis first goal in English football since 2008 He made 22 appearances for Accrington, scoring three times,
Scarborough Athletic In March 2013, Hughes joined
Scarborough Athletic of the
Northern Counties East League Premier Division until the end of the season. He started his first game on 9 March against
Pickering Town, and scored his first goal a week later in a 4–2 victory at
Parkgate. In April 2014 he was appointed as one of manager Rudy Funk's joint assistant managers. Following Funk's resignation in November 2014, he was appointed joint manager alongside Paul Foot. In October 2015, alongside his role with Scarborough, Hughes took up the post of head of coaching at the i2i International Soccer Academy, a facility associated with
York St John University. Two months later, Hughes and Foot left Scarborough by mutual consent after a series of poor results. ==Managerial career==