Hughes' promotion aim with Carlisle still in sight

This season has taken Carlisle boss Mark Hughes to many new grounds in the National League [Shutterstock]

The buzz of matchday is what continues to burn inside Mark Hughes as he prepares for the biggest game of Carlisle United's season.

They welcome Boreham Wood to Brunton Park on Sunday (12:30 BST) with the winners heading to Wembley seven days later for the National League play-off final.

A veteran of 466 Premier League matches in the dugout, Hughes ended a 16-month period out of the game when he joined Carlisle in February 2025.

And for the 62-year-old Welshman, nothing can replicate the feeling of a match, with a bumper crowd of more than 12,000 expected.

"Any Saturday or Sunday or whatever matchday it is, that's the big, big reason why I'm still doing this job," he told BBC Radio Cumbria.

"It can test you and it can be frustrating on a number of levels. But I was always the same as a player.

"Training or whatever went into the game, I wasn't the best pupil if I'm honest, I just wanted to play at the weekend."

Hughes was unable to prevent relegation from League Two when he arrived last year as Carlisle went down for a second successive season.

But the former Manchester United and Wales legend stayed at the club as they have rebuilt and regrouped this campaign.

The Blues could not keep pace with Rochdale and champions York City and their tallies of 106 and 108 points respectively, but an impressive eight-game unbeaten run to finish the season helped them to a comfortable third place. The final tally of 95 points is a club record.

How the season will ultimately be judged will be decided across this Sunday and potentially next, with the winners in Cumbria facing either Rochdale or Scunthorpe United to decide the second promotion spot.

However, Hughes has belief that the campaign can have a glorious ending.

"We're in position to do that if we overcome the hurdles in front of us," said Hughes.

"That was always the aim at the beginning of the season. We made no bones about that. We raised the expectation with that.

"A lot of people thought that's what we should be aiming for, others thought it may be beyond us in the first year after two poor seasons and two relegations.

"But we're still in the mix, able to achieve what we set out to, so let's see what happens."