Wales and Man Utd great Hughes named Carlisle boss

Mark Hughes returns to League Two to take charge of relegation-threatened Carlisle United with 18 games of the season remaining

Carlisle United have appointed Wales legend Mark Hughes as their new head coach.

Hughes has signed a rolling contract to replace Mike Williamson who was sacked on Monday with the club bottom of League Two.

The 61-year-old, who will have Glyn Hodges alongside him as assistant coach, has been out of work since being sacked by Bradford City in October 2023.

Hughes has managed six clubs in the Premier League as well as the Wales national team after a glittering playing career.

He spent 18 months at Bradford and in his only full season in charge the Bantams finished sixth before they were beaten in the League Two play-offs by Carlisle.

That was his only managerial job outside the top-flight, having previously been in charge of a total of 466 Premier League games at Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Fulham, QPR, Stoke City and Southampton.

Before that, he had managed Wales for five years, leading them to a play-off for Euro 2004, but he was not able to guide them to a major tournament.

Hughes won 11 major honours during a playing career as a centre forward with Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Southampton, Everton and Blackburn Rovers. He also won 72 caps for Wales.

'Mark will instantly command respect'

But his new job is to try to drag Carlisle away from relegation to the National League.

They are 24th in League Two, five points from safety, and he is their third boss of the season after the departures of Williamson and Paul Simpson, who left in August.

The Cumbrians have won only twice at Brunton Park all season, and brought Williamson's reign to an end after a humiliating 5-1 defeat at home by Swindon Town on Saturday.

Williamson's exit came despite bringing in 11 new players in the transfer window, backed by the club's American owners, the Piatak family.

But sporting director Rob Clarkson has acted quickly to bring Hughes in for the final 18 games of the season, starting at Grimsby Town on Saturday.

"Mark's experience and stature in the game speaks for itself," Clarkson told the club's website.

"He is someone who will instantly command respect from all staff and players and I am really excited to work with him.

"The players we have here will suit the way he wants to play and I'm sure our fans will really get behind him and the team in our remaining 18 games."

Hughes needs to turn 'water into wine' on the pitch

Analysis, James Phillips, BBC Radio Cumbria, Carlisle United commentator

For all that Mark Hughes played for Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, and managed Blackburn, Manchester City and Wales, the 61-year-old also has experience of League Two.

He took Bradford City to the 2023 play-off semi-finals, where they were seen off by none other than the club where he has been appointed head coach.

Unlike two years ago, though, the Carlisle he meets now are not in a healthy state, sitting bottom of the Football League and five points adrift in the relegation zone.

United have 18 games left and 54 points to play for. Plenty of points and plenty of games, you might say, but the average point tally to avoid relegation from League Two post-Covid is 43 – fully 22 more than Carlisle have today.

Even if they are to stay up by the skin of their teeth, United will likely need 40 per cent of the points left available, when they've managed to gather just 25 per cent of those available to date.

That, then, is scale of the task for the man who once signed Brazilian superstar Robinho…

Galvanise the squad and the fanbase, turn water to wine on the football pitch and save Cumbria's most famous football club from an unthinkable drop into non-league football, for only the second time in their history.