Bairns consider Hughes approach

07 June 2009 11:29
Hughes has expressed an interest in returning to his former club once Martinez completes his move to Wigan on Wednesday. Falkirk managing director George Craig insists there has been no official approach for Hughes but understands the 44-year-old's burning desire to test himself south of the border. "There's no approaches been made - at the moment, it's all speculation," Craig told BBC Sport Wales. "John has been making it known that maybe he's reaching that stage in his managerial career where it's time to see if he can face another challenge. "He's been particularly specific to say that if an opportunity arose down south, he would be interested. "If an opportunity was to come along for John, I would certainly not hold that against him to at least consider it. "We would be very understanding and would hope that - between ourselves and John and whatever club that came in for him - we would be able to come to some amicable settlement." Former Swansea striker Hughes took his first steps into management with Falkirk in January 2003, initially in a joint role with now-Burnley manager Owen Coyle. He twice won the First Division, with Falkirk gaining entry to the Scottish Premier League at the second time of asking in 2005 after building a new stadium. The Bairns thrived in the SPL until this season, when they completed a remarkable escape from relegation on the final day of the campaign. But they reached the Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final and the Homecoming Scottish Cup final, qualifying for Europe for the first time in their history. Craig added: "He's done some remarkable things in his time at Falkirk. "We don't want to lose our manager in the same way Swansea didn't want to lose theirs. "What I've got to do is react to situations as they develop. Nothing's developed at the moment."

Source: Team_Talk