Mark Hughes ‘loved every minute’ of his management return despite Bradford loss

Mark Hughes’ first game as Bradford manager ended in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of in-form Mansfield but the former Wales and Manchester City boss insisted he loved every minute of it.

Mansfield scored either side of half-time to condemn Bradford to their fourth successive defeat in front of a bumper 16,297 crowd.

Leading scorer Rhys Oates opened the scoring a minute before the interval with a fine angled shot after a long clearance was headed into his path and Matty Longstaff, on loan from Newcastle, scored a second two minutes into the second half with a deflected shot which left keeper Alex Bass wrong-footed.

Hughes said: “I loved every minute of it. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in charge of a group of players on a matchday at 3pm on Saturday. I really enjoyed it, notwithstanding the result obviously.

“It was a great atmosphere. Mansfield came in numbers as well and made a good noise but our fans were great.

“They stuck with us. They are disappointed obviously as we all are but I think they understand it’s a process we’re going through and we’ll get better.

“I saw things I was encouraged by, other things less so. But it’s about making sure we emphasize the elements of our play we need to improve and then we’ll get better.

“That’s why today’s game was really important. It’s given me a better insight in terms of what I’ve got to work with, maybe some of the weaknesses and the strengths.

“It was a good exercise in terms of having a better understanding of the group.

“Unfortunately we lost the exercise but it gives me a better view of which direction we need to go, certainly short term and long term.

“There were elements of play I was reasonably pleased with. Second half we got on the ball a little bit more.

“We changed the shape early in the second half and matched them up in midfield which seemed to help us. It gave us more control but not really creating any clear-cut chances, so we’re going to have to be better in doing that in the final third.

“That’s to come, I’m convinced of that.

“They were desperate to do well today and I think you saw the effort in the group. They were giving everything and that’s important as we go to the end of the season. It is what it is at the moment but confidence is huge as we know in sport.

“You only do that (gain confidence) by playing well and winning football matches.”

Mansfield manager Nigel Clough was pleased with his team’s performance.

He said: “We deserved to win overall. We had enough situations in the first 20 minutes and should have scored in that period, but then we scored a brilliant goal just before half-time.

“We said to them at half-time ‘do everything to silence the crowd at the start of the second half’ and we did that by scoring the second goal.”

Mansfield were supported by 2,129 travelling fans and Clough said: “It was a tremendous turnout, but we have had some wonderful days out this season and this was one of them.”

Mansfield are on a 13-match unbeaten run dating back to November.

“It’s a tremendous run,” said Clough. “So let’s keep it going. There’s a long way to go.”

Clough was missing his two first-choice central defenders Oli Hawkins and Joe O’Toole through suspension, but his side continued their impressive defensive record.

He said: “We have gone six games without conceding a goal in open play.

“I thought Bradford played well and put in crosses and corners, but we dealt with them reasonably well.”

Clough had a word of welcome for Hughes.

He said: “It is a brilliant appointment for Bradford and brilliant for League Two. He will find it tough, but it’s tough everywhere.”