Peterborough United skipper says it's never too early to get into a winning habit

Posh have followed a 3-1 defeat at Championship side Leicester City in their opening pre-season game of the summer with away wins against Stamford AFC (6-0), another Championship side Ipswich Town (1-0), and Peterborough Sports (8-1).

The latter win at PIMS Park on Tuesday night marked the first appearance of pre-season for centre-back Hughes. His return to action had been delayed by a minor operation in May.

"It’s always good to get into winning habits,” Hughes told the Posh Plus service. “No disrespect to the opposition, who can be three or four divisions below us, but we have to still show the right level of application to do the job.

"The lads have been working on lots of things in training and it’s good to see them replicated in matches and, regardless of who you are playing against, it’s good to see the forwards getting among the goals. That can only benefit them when the League One season starts.

"From my point of view it was good to be back in action. I suffered a little injury setback towards the end of last season and I needed a little touch up in the summer which put me a little bit behind the rest of the lads, but the 45 minutes last night will do me good. Hopefully I can get more minutes this weekend.”

Hughes was a spectator for the first three pre-season games and able to run the rule of young Academy graduate Lucca Mendonca who is also a central defender.

"Lucca has a great temperament and he’s a great lad,” Hughes added. “Getting first-team opportunities can be difficult for young lads, but these pre-season matches are ideal for the Academy players to learn how the manager wants to work and the level they need to get to in order to have good careers.”