Having played more minutes of Fulham’s record breaking season than any other outfield player, the unflappable Aaron Hughes reflects on a memorable campaign and looks forward to a European adventure…
Much like his on-pitch persona, off the field Aaron Hughes is an unassuming individual.
The curtain has just come down on Fulham’s finest top-flight season in the Club’s 130-year history, with a record-breaking seventh place finish and 53-point haul. European football is coming to Craven Cottage for only the second time ever and our famous stadium on the banks of the Thames is now a place where the top teams fear to tread.
The team reached the Quarter-Final of the FA Cup, one game away from Wembley, kept a record number of clean sheets and, at one stage, recorded another memorable feat, in going nine league games unbeaten.
Yet while evocative words flowed exuberantly in the press and on the terraces, Aaron stood unshakeably level-headed. You will hear no chorus of sensational acclamation from our Northern Irish centre-back, the 29-year-old describes last season as simply “solid”.
“I think it is important to not get too carried away,” levels Hughes. “Don’t get me wrong, it has been a great season and a very important one for the Club and the fans, but football is a game where anything can happen. Our goals will remain the same and that is to carry on working hard and making sure, as a team, we are prepared and at the top of our game.
“Our success has come from that. It was a solid season and a reflection of the hard work that we put in over the course of not just the last 12 months, but probably the last 18.”
Born in Cookstown in Northern Ireland in 1979, Aaron came through the youth ranks of Newcastle United and since his early breakthrough he has remained one of the Premier League’s most consistent performers. He’s the captain of his country, with more than 60 caps to his name, and having spent some 12 seasons in the English top-flight he has an interesting take on today’s game.
So much so, Fulham’s rise from relegation fodder to European hopefuls may have surprised some, but for Aaron, the writing was on the wall for some time.
“I think I speak for a lot of the players here when I say the signs were there from when Roy came in last January,” he reveals. “Straight away we became a lot more organised, more compact and slowly but surely we were began to make more and more progress.
“Okay, the results may not have gone our way, but everything else was starting to take shape. Obviously it was touch-and-go and a lot of people had written us off. But we had a character and belief about our game and that showed through in the end. If I am honest, what we achieved last season wasn’t too much of a surprise. We knew what the gaffer wanted and how he expected us to play and we knew that we were capable of making that happen.”
That said, the 2008/09 season yielded a fascinating reversal of fortunes for the Club that not even the most fanciful of the Fulham faithful could have foreseen.
“We did exceed our expectations a little, I can see why people will be saying that,” he admits. “Our ambition at the start of the season was to simply improve on the last one and stabilise our position in the Premier League as a top-flight club.
“So we definitely surpassed those priorities, but looking back, we deserved to finish as we did. Even when we had secured our position we carried on fighting because we didn’t want the season to fizzle out. We kept going and were rewarded very nicely with a place in next season’s Europa League.”
Having experienced a number of European campaigns whilst wearing the black and white of Newcastle, Aaron now has his sights set on an ambitious furore in the white and black of Fulham and insists the impact of the Europa League can only be a positive.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for the Club,” he explains. “It’s a nice way to cap a great year and it gives us something extra to look forward to next season. I’ve been lucky enough to play in Europe before and it’s a great experience for everybody that is involved with the Club. It’s a different type of football and it’s just a nice thing to be part of.
“I only see it as a positive thing. I understand that some may have their concerns, but this team is capable of European football. Okay, it is a small squad, but you have to remember that generally speaking, the same 11 to 13 players have played this season. We have others that are relishing the chance of coming in and showing what they can do. It’s a chance to use the squad a bit more and, of course, the Club will bring more players in over the summer.
“The League will obviously remain the priority, and that has to be the case, but I don’t think the Europa League will be a distraction – if anything I think it will have a positive impact. We also have one of the best fitness and medical teams in the country. They’re absolutely superb, and make sure we’re well looked after. It will have its demands, but they know what they’re doing.
“This is football, and you won’t catch me complaining about having two games a week. This is what we’re paid to do and have been doing for most of our lives. Once you get into the rhythm, you soon get used to it.”
Aaron’s European pedigree will certainly be called upon next term, for what will be his third season at Craven Cottage. His previous two campaigns have been universally contrasting; he played his part when the Club was drifting inexorably towards the Championship and has been a virtual ever present in guiding the Whites to unprecedented new heights.
“It was a more comfortable season than the one before, that’s for sure,” he exclaims. “It could have been totally different. Of course, at times I thought about what could have happened if we had gone down and it’s a very sobering thought.
“My Northern Ireland team-mate Maik Taylor went down with Birmingham as a result and we’ve talked about the experience. It’s difficult and that could easily have been me in that position. It was the first time I and a lot of the guys had been involved in a relegation fight and I think we learned a lot from it. It certainly makes you appreciate what you have.”
And like his fellow team-mates, Aaron appears to have the utmost respect for Roy Hodgson and the influence he has had on recent proceedings.
“Everybody can see the impact he has had on this Club – it’s been massive,” says Aaron. “Prior to taking charge of Fulham he had been working abroad for a long time and I think a lot of people had forgot just how good a manager he was.
“Not only does he manage but he’s also out on the training pitch for every session. He’s a true football man, who likes to get the ball down and play. A lot of people have sat up and taken notice of Fulham this season and that has come from the top. For any young coach or player looking at making the move into coaching they should look to Roy as a model of how you should approach the game.
“I’m almost 30, and I’ve been in the game a while now. But he’s still teaching me new things and I feel like I’m constantly learning. In the 18 months that I have worked with him, I think I have improved more than any other 18-month period in my whole career.”
It is fair to say that Aaron has experienced what has possibly been his finest season as a professional, certainly with the FFC crest on his chest. His performances last term were often faultless and he impressed all at Craven Cottage with his cool composure and poise on the ball. Aaron Hughes is perhaps the perfect example of self-improvement.
“I think that season is up there with my best, certainly,” he reflects. “I’m very pleased with the season on a personal level as well, it was a good one. And a lot of that is down to playing at centre-half again because I spent a period of four or five seasons playing regularly, but in a variety of positions.
“Roy decided to move me back into the centre and that has definitely helped. I have always thought that centre-half was my best position; it’s where I feel most comfortable. I also have to highlight the coaching that we experience here because under the guidance of Roy, Ray (Lewington) and Mike (Kelly) you can’t fail to develop. I’ve probably answered a lot of questions this season in terms of what is my best position.”
However, as first-class as the coaching has been, Hughes himself can also take a large share of the credit, for he is widely considered one of the hardest trainers - always one of the last to leave the training ground.
“I have to work hard to be honest with you, whether that’s on the training pitch or in the gym,” he says. “Being a centre-half you have to be strong because these days you’re coming up against some very big strikers and I’m not naturally big like Dickson is for instance.
“I look at the example of Gary Speed, who I played with at Newcastle – he played up until his late 30s. Even when he was 32 or 33 he was always at the front in pre-season. He showed me how important it was to look after yourself and that’s the reason he had such a long career. That stuck with me, and why I try and look after myself as best as I can. If you put in the effort now, it can only prolong your career – I’m just thinking ahead.”
Whatever he’s doing, it seems to be working, having featured in all of the Whites’ 38 league games and missing only 26 minutes of First Team football. He played in every minute of the Club’s FA Cup campaign and featured heavily for Northern Ireland too.
“It was good to be involved in so many matches and playing the majority of the season,” he says. “Fortunately, I remained virtually injury free. Every player will say that they want to be playing week-in-week-out and luckily I have had that opportunity.”
Aaron was brought to the Club in June 2007 by his former international boss Lawrie Sanchez, forming a strong Northern Ireland contingent alongside the likes of David Healy, Steven Davis and Chris Baird – a group of players Sanchez knew well and trusted.
However, when Roy Hodgson came in, changes inevitably took place, and with the majority of Sanchez’s singings moving on, Aaron was understandably concerned for his place.
“I was definitely worried,” he admits. “It’s natural that a new manager would want to make changes and a lot of the players that I came in with have now moved on. You just don’t know what a new manager’s plans are and he will always want to bring in his own players, just like Lawrie did. It was a concern, but all I could do was what Roy asked and show that I could fit into his plans.”
And he did, with flying colours. In fact, Aaron is probably one of the first names on the team sheet and one half of one of the best central defensive partnerships in the country. Alongside Brede Hangeland, he has forged an intriguing understanding with the towering Norwegian – a collaboration built on resilience, equanimity and two astute footballing minds.
Fifteen clean sheets and just 34 league goals conceded, the best record outside of the top four, suggest Hughes and Hangeland are up there with the best and more than a match for some of the world’s greatest strikers.
“The defence did well and obviously a lot has been said about certain records that we have kept, which is pleasing,” he says. “But as I have said in the past, it starts with the two lads up front. The team plays together and it involves everyone doing their job.
“But it’s nice to have kept so many clean sheets, in fact I think it’s the most I have helped keep ever. Strikers love scoring goals and defenders love keeping clean sheets. But it’s a team achievement rather than one just for the defence.
“A lot has also been said about my partnership with Brede, and I don’t really have a reason to why it has worked so well – it just has. In football that is quite often the way. Sometimes you find a player that you just gel with and I think we complement each other well. We’re at a point where we know each others’ game inside-out – it’s almost like second nature.”
However, while the likes of Alan Hansen have been drawing rings around Brede, at times Aaron’s matchday contributions have been harshly ignored.
“Ever since Brede came to the Club he’s been fantastic,” says Aaron. “He’s developed into one of the best defenders in the League and I can see why he’s got a lot of people talking – he’s had a massive 12 months.
“I’m not too bothered about not getting the attention. It’s always nice to hear good things said about you, but it’s not the be–all-and-end-all. As long as the Manager, my team-mates and the fans are happy with what I am doing then that’s the main thing. You can never change what people think about you, good or bad. All you can do is go out onto the football pitch and perform to the best of your capabilities. I just like to get on with the job.”
When talking to Aaron it is clear you are in the presence of one of football’s nicest guys, a normal bloke who truly appreciates his talent for the game. He’s extremely accommodating with his time and, although quietly spoken, what he says is uplifting and thoughtful.
He’s a family man too, and likes nothing more than spending time with his wife of eight years, Samantha, and his two daughters Keira, five and Leila, who is two-and-a-half.
“I’m pretty boring to be honest!” He says. “I might do a bit of fishing, because it’s a good chance to get away from the game and relax a bit. My time is really just spent with my family. I love picking the girls up from school. The lifestyles of footballers are often misconstrued. What you read in the papers, isn’t always the case.
“I think I’m just an ordinary guy who’s lucky enough to do an extraordinary job. Football hasn’t changed me. I’m a bit older and wiser these days, but generally speaking I’m the same as when I first started out.” And you tend to believe him.
You also believe when he says that Fulham are a club heading in the right direction, and as difficult as it is to envisage just how the team can better these past 10 dazzling months, you consider it more when he insists the foundations are already in place.
“We just have to keep doing what we have been doing,” he confirms. “We’ll stick to what works best for us because we have a good thing going on here, this is a club with a bright future. We’ve worked very hard to get where we have so it’s important to maintain that.
“Next season will be a bit harder because, naturally, the expectations have been raised. But as I have said, our priorities will remain the same and if we can meet them again then we can think about what might be after that.
“The fact that we finished in the Club’s highest ever position and qualified for Europe is a clear indication of how far we have come and the progression that has been made. The ambition is to improve every year, but this isn’t a club that gets ahead of itself and we’ll take it one step at a time.”
Fultime: Issue 29
Pick your copy of Fultime (Issue 29) up from the Club Shop on Fulham Road or Café at the Cottage for a bargain price of £3.50.
Packed with gloriously indulgent reflection on a memorable campaign, the 84 page publication features comment from some of the key figures in the team’s success.
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Chairman Mohamed Al Fayed proudly discusses his Club’s achievement and ponders where we go from here in an exclusive interview.
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Manager Roy Hodgson explains the football philosophy that turned relegation fighters into European qualifiers.
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Midfield powerhouse Dickson Etuhu talks candidly about his rise to prominence in the Whites’ midfield.
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Naturally, we also look back on the past 10 months with a review of the season in images and quotes, and preview some of the places the UEFA Europa League draw may send us in the new season, whilst the squad dish the dirt on each other in our alternative end of season awards.
What’s more, in addition to all of the exuberant celebration, are all the usual top features too…
Danny Murphy recalls his early days in football in Debut Days, Simon Davies shares the secrets of his picturesque hometown of Solva in Wales, and we also check in on what former White Ian Pearce has been up to since he left the Cottage.
