Mark Hughes speaks for the first time since taking over at Southampton

In his first press conference he talked very directly about his task at St Mary's and admitted he isn't scared to 'step on people's toes' and 'upset people' to keep the club in the Premier League. 

The 54-year-old also revealed he had been encouraged by what he's seen on the training ground at Staplewood in his first two sessions at Staplewood. 

Here is the first part of the transcript from his conference which will be followed by the second tomorrow...

Mark, was it an easy decision to return to Saints?

"It was a decision that I felt I wanted to take in terms of being a positive one.

"This is a club I know and clearly it has changed beyond all recognition in comparison to when I was first here as a player.

"From my point of view it was important that when I did come back in it was at a club I felt it could move forward.

"This is different to normal circumstances. It is a short contract and for me and from myself and my staff that allows us to focus on the job in hand.

"We have to use every minute of every day that we are here to make sure we get the right results that the team and the club needs."

Target has to be a quick impact. Does that mean you have to change your management style at all? 

"When you’ve got the luxury of a little bit more time you can build relationships and that takes time.

"Sometimes you have to step on people’s toes and we are probably in that situation.

"We got no time to wait. We have eight weeks and we have to get on with it. If we upset people along the way they will have to accept it.

"It’s about the end game and making sure we are successful when we look back on this period.

"There’s a willingness in the two days we have been here, a real energy to the club which I’ve liked and everybody is pushing in the right direction but we have to keep that going by winning football matches, and that is the hard bit."

You've signed a short-term contract, but could you see yourself staying beyond this season if things go well?

"I would like to think we will do the job here and fulfil our remit then maybe there would be discussions about it.

"That is not pressure I am trying to put on anybody else but it would be the consequence of whether we are successful in this short period.

"I am not concentrating on that, it’s about the here and now and getting on with the job in hand."

What do make of the situation the club find themselves in?

"It’s difficult. The Premier League is difficult and tests you almost every week.

"Different tests, different opposition and different qualities of players you have to the answers for when you go up against them.

"I have been working with the group for two days now and I am encouraged by what I’ve seen in terms of their quality and their application.

"They have been first class and that encourages me as a manager and a coach.

"I know we have the talent to get the job done and that is encouraging.

"Sometimes when you walk into a club, given the circumstances we find ourselves in, you are worried about what you are stepping into.

"Very early on I have understood we have a good group that need maybe a little bit more direction and detail to their work and then we will be fine."

Are the signs positive from what you've seen of the squad so far?

"It’s the impression I have got. I work in a certain way and with certain levels of training intensity I am looking for.

"I have seen that in the last two days, the levels that I demand I have seen.

"It’s fair to say the feedback from people in and around the club is that maybe that intensity hasn’t been there before but for me it’s the norm because that’s the level I work.

"Maybe that can help the guys given in the games we have got ahead of us."

Can you talk about your experience as a Premier League manager?

"I have been in the Premier League for a long time now.

"I have garnered quite an amount of Premier League points as well so clearly when the circumstances are right and you have the tools to do the job I can win Premier League games.

"I have proved that for a long time.

"I feel the quality we have here, we have a good group, good players technically, and with only a few omissions we have a healthy squad which will be important for us from now until the end of the season."

How important is it to getting the goals flowing at the right end?

"I would like to think I have an insight into how you can improve forward play.

"We have good quality players here who have decent records in terms of their playing career scoring wise.

"We have got to bring out the best elements of their play, the most effective elements of their attacking play, and make sure the team as a whole benefits from good creativity and movement in the final third and the team itself understands when the ball comes in and we are attacking that we have to have certain numbers and to get into good areas.

"These are fundamentals from my point of view and that is the focus leading into the first game at the weekend.

"We need to create chances. We are in a situation we need to win games and draws and clearly losses are not going to be enough."

Is the FA Cup a priority considering the situation in the league?

"We are not going to demean the competition by not focussing on the FA Cup.

"It’s a competition that has been good to me during my career. I was fortunate to win it on quite a few occasions and it figured highly for me in my playing career and I have a great deal of affection and emotion for it.

"I would never demean the competition by not focussing as strongly as we need to.

"We are up against a good team, Wigan are playing well, playing with confidence and I’m sure they will fancy their chances.

"They have beaten three Premier League teams and we have to make sure it isn’t a fourth one."

How does this challenge at Saints compare to the other challenges you've faced in your career?

"Every club and situation is different but it’s making sure at the end of my stay here we are as successful in that period for however long it is.

"We are looking solely to the end of the season and we want to be a Premier League club and win the FA Cup."

Is your arrival a clean slate for some of those players who haven't been involved?

"There’s an argument for that.

"Players when they see a change in management, maybe any disappointment they have felt or any grievances they had with previous incumbents, it lightens their load so to speak from their frustrations.

"When a new manager comes in, and I have been through the process as myself as a player, they react a certain way and maybe they feel their options are better once the change has been made.

"I can only go on what I have seen from afar.

"I have been an opposition manager against good Southampton teams in the past and I know a great deal about the players I have come in to work with.

"The key is that if you perform well you keep the shirt but the level is really high.

"We are playing in the hardest league in the world and the standard needs to be high to keep in the team."

How important will the fans be in this period?

"We are going to take over 4,000 to Wigan which is a huge effort and we need to give them something to grab onto and grasp.

"It’s been a difficult period for everybody connected with Southampton and fans are paramount in that.

"Whenever we get in this situation as football people there is a little bit of negativity that needs to be dissipated.

"If we can do that at the weekend hopefully everybody can get on board and be in a positive frame of mind going forward because clearly we need everybody."

What is the injury situation and how important can Charlie Austin be for you?

"Speaking with Charlie the last two days he is really encouraged by how it’s going.

"He won’t be involved this weekend and the international break is coming up and we feel we have a chance to integrate him for short periods next week and we could get game time with him on the grass with him and if we can do that we can speed up his progress.

"I don’t want to put too much pressure on Charlie and his situation but if we can get him ready for West Ham then clearly it’s a massive positive for us."

What have you found in this first few days working with the players?

"Everybody works in a different way and there’s no right or wrong way. The only right way is to win football matches.

"I work a certain way and I like a certain level on a daily basis and I’ve seen that and I can only judge them on what I’ve seen in the two days I’ve been with them and I’ve been pleased with that.

"When you walk into a club you are apprehensive as to what you will find – are they disenfranchised, are they fragmented as a group, are their levels too low that you don’t have the time to bring them up? I haven’t found that which is encouraging.

"I have got a good group, a willing group that is ready to work to make sure we are successful from until the end of the season."