Mark Hughes might have not had the best of times as manager of Queens Park Rangers, but the former Manchester United player is confident he can put all the mistakes behind him and lead Stoke up a level after being appointed as the new manager of the English Premier League club.
Right after Tony Pulis was let go by the Potters, it became clear that Hughes was the favorite, after apparently impressing the Coates family, the owners of Stoke, in his interview.
Hughes was confirmed as the new manager with the 49-year-old signing a three-year contract.
"I'm absolutely delighted to get the opportunity," Hughes said.
"The Coates family have given me this opportunity and I'm really grateful. I'm pleased they have done their due diligence and looked beyond my last position and taken my career as a manager as a whole. I have the opportunity to work with good people.
"With the passion in the area, this is very much a local club that's close to its community. The passion and real desire from the crowd for the team is obvious."
Hughes admitted mistakes were made during his ill-fated tenure with QPR, but believes he is the right man to take Stoke forward.
"It was difficult at QPR and a lot of managers have gone in there and found it difficult," Hughes added.
"Their turnover of managers, not just in the last 18 months, but historically has been high. It was difficult and mistakes were made.
"I made mistakes which I learned from but I felt I was given the task of keeping them in the Premier League which I managed to do. I had 17 games to do that and 12 games later I lost my job.
"It was a difficult situation with a lot of chances and if we are honest with ourselves we tried to run before we could walk. From my point of view it's all about the here and now and moving Stoke forward."
Hughes also praised Pulis for his work in establishing Stoke as a Premier League club, while promising an attractive style at the Britannia, something the Potters were not known for under Pulis.
"It's a big decision that has been made and I understand the success Tony had enables me to have a better chance," he said.
"He's put things in place to make the club more stable and is conducive to being in the Premier League and I will reap the benefits of that.
"Stoke have been in the Premier League for a number of years now and have the understanding of what it takes to win Premier League games.
"It's not a case of wiping away the hard work of previous seasons. I'd like to make then a little bit more offensive but we're not going to chuck the baby out with the bathwater. It's about steady progress.
"Sometimes you get labelled with a certain way of playing. I can only take the club forward as I know and my philosophy is to play football, the play good football, make chances and make it entertaining for the fans who pay good money to come and see us."
