Former Peterborough United player full of confidence ahead of his return to London Road with Preston North End

Hughes was a rock-solid, if not particularly eye-catching left-back, for most of his 102 appearances for Posh following a move from Newport County in June, 2016. His move into the Championship with Preston North End in 2018 ahead of more obviously gifted players came as a shock.

But the 29 year-old Welshman is a firmly established player in a decent Championship team, one that is currently making a late dash for the play-offs.

He’s also revelling in a new position as a left-sided centre-back in a 3-5-2 formation.

“I really enjoyed my time at Peterborough,” Hughes told the Lancashire Post. “It was a step up in division for me at the time and it became a part of my career. I was there for two years.

“I played under Grant McCann in the main there and then Steve Evans towards the end. I think it was actually Grant who told me (manager) Alex Neil had been in touch from Preston.

“Things moved from there and now we are only four points off the play-offs which is crazy.

“We’re not carried away, but things are moving in the right direction. (New manager) Ryan Lowe has had a big influence here. He came in and told us how he wanted to play.

“Then it was down to us to do it on the pitch, work on things in training and put it into practice.

“The positivity around the place is really good and everyone is pulling in the same direction and singing from the same hymn sheet.

“The clean sheets we’ve had recently is pleasing. As a defender it is nice to walk off the pitch knowing you have done your job.

“The gaffer wants us to play like Sheffield United and get our outside centre-backs bombing up the pitch.

“If I can push up the left wing it gives us an extra outlet. It is almost like playing with two wide players.

“I know the gaffer wants me to get forward a bit more and I need to work on that side of my game. It’s a role I enjoy, I feel confident in it.”

Preston are currently 12th in the Championship, but just four points outside the play-off places. They’ve lost just one of their last 10 matches and kept three clean sheets in their last three away games.