By Shaun Casey

FORMER Down star Danny Hughes will oversee his own club team Saval for the upcoming season and admits there is an emotional attachment linked to the job.

Hughes, who guided Castlewellan to promotion from Division Two last season, has built a strong backroom team with Gavin ‘Sparky’ Trainor and Stephen Kearney.

“Stephen is also a Saval man, so we have a very good line up and my own father Gerry who has been in Saval and managed teams, we have a great management set up there.

“I’m very happy with what we have. Of course, the emotional element is there, but again I have a lot of good men. I’m only the figure-head, it’s the other men that are the brains behind the whole thing to be quite honest.

“The emotional bit will be well managed, and those other guys are there, they’re very well grounded and they’ll keep my emotions in check.”

The 2010 All-Star said that he always envisioned managing his own club, but he was surprised at how early the opportunity arose.

“They (Saval) did really well, a good friend of mine had managed them last year, Ronan Sexton, and Kieran Lynch.

“There was a bit of uncertainty around who was going to take over and when they asked me, it was one of those where if you’re in this management game or if you’re in this coaching game, it’s one you have to do with your own club.

“I’ve always felt that at some point you’ll have to take your own club and that’s exactly where I find myself at the minute. I didn’t think I would be taking it on this early, but that’s where I find myself. I’m thoroughly enjoying it.”

“Of course, there are challenges with taking your own club but again, there’s also great satisfaction from it as well.”

While there are plenty of challenges, Hughes has enjoyed preseason as his team builds towards the opening round of the league against Glenn in four weeks’ time.

“Training’s going very well. Obviously, the last couple of weeks with the weather and a couple of storms coming one after the other, have been challenging around getting the field.

“We have a training field, and we have lights on it but they’re just okay. Then I suppose we have to get it right between making sure everybody has access to the field and making sure it doesn’t get cut up.

“We’re only looking to the first game. I don’t know what the targets will be, it will all depend on that first game and they (Glenn) have about four or five county men there.

“They’ve been gathered a long time, that particular group and they’ve been there or there abouts in the last stages of the championship.

“All we’re doing is looking at the first game and we’re just going to take it game by game. It’s a very competitive league, it’s a very tough league and I know that from last year with Castlewellan, it’s a very tough league. Every week you’ll need to be on it and if you’re not on it you’re not going to get any results.”

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