Mark Hughes eager to leave his mark at Southampton

Mark Hughes has insisted that he has no problems about the length of the contract awarded to him when agreeing to take charge of Southampton.

The experienced Premier League boss has been tasked with keeping the Saints in the top flight, having this week replaced Mauricio Pellegrino in the St Mary's dugout.

Hughes, who represented the club 60 times in his playing days, has signed a deal that will initially run through until the end of the campaign.

Speaking to reporters ahead of his first match in charge, which comes away at Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup this weekend, the Welshman explained the reasons behind the short-term agreement.

"It was a decision that I felt I wanted to take in terms of being a positive one," he said. "This club clearly has changed beyond all recognition 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 that I felt I could move forward. Obviously this is a little bit different from normal circumstances. It is a short contract and from everybody's point of view here, and for myself and my staff, it allows us to focus on the job in hand.

"We have just got to make sure we use every minute of every day that we're here to make sure that we get the right results that the team and the club need in these circumstances."

Hughes is rumoured to have a survival bonus of just under £1m inserted into his contract, with Southampton a point above the dotted line.