FC Halifax Town: Hughes wants to help Shaymen back into National League

The wide-man scored crucial goals in the end-of-season run-in against Altrincham and Boreham Wood, but they weren’t enough to keep Halifax up.

Hughes is contracted at the club for next season and wants to stay and battle for an immediate return to the National League.

“I probably would’ve laughed at you and said ‘no chance’,” said Hughes about what his reaction to Town getting relegated would have been at the start of the season.

“Strange things happen in football but now we have to try and win the league and get back to the Conference again.

“I’ve got another year on my contract so I’d be more than happy to stay.

“I can only speak for myself in that respect. I don’t know who else will be staying or going.”

The 23-year-old was devastated at Town’s relegation, and felt the club were on their way to safety against Macclesfield last Saturday.

“I’m disappointed, gutted - you name it,” Hughes said.

“It’s a big club and they should be in the National League.

“I thought we’d do it, especially after going 1-0 up, I thought it would be a fairytale ending.

“We’ve just got to reflect on it and dust ourselves off.

“You can’t think about it too much because it’ll eat you up but I’m so disappointed for the fans, my friends and my family.”

Hughes says the club’s slow start - which saw them collect just 10 points from their first 45 available - was a major factor in their ultimate demise.

He added: “We didn’t have a great start and that meant everyone else got a head-start on us.

“Other teams around us have gone on some great runs and beaten some good teams but there’s no excuses.

“We were in and out of it then in it again, but that just shows how much trouble we were in.

“We went on a great run, got a couple of points out if it but results went against us and we were back in it.

“Just when you need a bit of luck we hit the post at the end and other results went against us.”