Bryan Hughes (Scarborough Athletic Player-Coach)

I HAD the option of possibly playing in Europe again under my good friend Hermann Hreidarsson in Iceland but Scarborough is the place for me!

I played in Iceland for IBV Vestmannaeyjar a couple of years ago during the summer as I know Hermann well from our time at Charlton.

We played in the Europa League during my time there against St Patrick’s but we lost, so I think I was a bit of bad luck for them!

It was a great experience for me and Iceland is a lovely place. There are quite a lot of young English lads who go over there to keep themselves fit and have another crack at it back in England.

Where IBV play is a bit weird because they’re on an island just off the mainland and there are only 3,000 people who live there.

Half of them are fishermen who work through the night so it’s a bit like a ghost town during the day!

I was surprised at the standard of football and I would definitely recommend it to any players who are thinking about it.
Hermann wanted me to go over again this past summer but after talking to Rudy Funk the manager at Scarborough, I decided to stay here.

Rudy was interested in keeping me on board for this season and also wanted me to help out with the coaching and help take the club forward. It’s a challenge I’m really enjoying.

Last season I was looking to get back into the Football League. I went to Bury just after Christmas and Kevin Blackwell was interested in bringing me in. Unfortunately their finances meant we couldn’t do anything.

Lincoln City then wanted me but there was nothing going there either and they couldn’t even cover my expenses.

I’m a good friends with Darren France, who is the assistant at Scarborough, and he just said ‘Why don’t you come in and help us get promotion?’

I played the last eight or nine games and helped them win the league. I had a few phone calls in the summer from professional clubs asking about my situation but I’m at a certain age now and the challenge here really appeals to me.

The expectation level is massive at the club but I think we will really take off once we get back to Scarborough, and we can’t wait for it to happen.

I’VE LEARNT MY TRADE BUT I’M NOT READY YET

I’VE always had an eye on coaching after I finished playing but it never really felt like the right time.

I’m really enjoying it at Scarborough and I’m also helping out at Dean Windass’ soccer academy, which is good fun.

When I get my teeth into something I want to put 100 per cent into it and playing part-time lets me focus a lot on the coaching aspect as well.

One day I’d like to be a manager but it takes a lot of luck to get a job nowadays!

I played under a lot of great managers and have learned a little bit from each. Brian Flynn was my first manager at Wrexham, then I had the pleasure of working under Trevor Francis and Steve Bruce at Birmingham and Alan Curbishley at Charlton.

But that is a long way off for me at the moment as I’m enjoying my playing and coaching at Scarborough.