Hughes: relations with Ferguson are better now, but he still likes to beat me

Fulham’s manager has a hard act to follow as he takes on United tomorrow in his first real test. Mark Fleming reports

It would have been one of the last things on the Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour's mind at the time, but a happy if unexpected consequence of his decision to sack Mark Hughes last December has been a thawing of relations between the former Wales manager and the man he used to call boss, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Relations between the two had been little more than cordial since Hughes agreed to take the vacant job at Blackburn Rovers in 2004, following a five-year spell in charge of the Welsh national team. The pair had shown plenty of respect to one another, but their connection was restricted to a swift handshake before and after games involving their clubs, followed by a brief chat over a swift glass of wine after the match.

Ferguson has in the past described himself as a "grandad" in terms of his relations to his former players-turned-managers but whereas there has been genuine affection shown towards the likes of Steve Bruce, Bryan Robson, Paul Ince and Roy Keane, the emotions seemed colder towards Hughes, who as a player had coined the phrase "the hairdryer" to describe the United manager's habit of bawling in his players' faces.

Hughes, alone among Fergie's protégés, was not in the habit of ringing up his old boss for advice or for just a natter. Things deteriorated when Hughes turned up closer to home in June 2008 at Manchester City, and the pair were pitched into direct neighbourly confrontation.

Relations were often hostile, not least last December when Ferguson was asked whether Hughes had ever struck him as managerial potential during his time at Old Trafford as a player. Ferguson replied: "Nobody here thought Mark Hughes would become a manager, never in a million years."

Ten days later, Hughes was sacked by City's impatient owners and one of the first to ring up and offer consolation was Ferguson. The United manager then went on the record a few days later to describe City's actions as "unacceptable behaviour".

Hughes now prepares to host the old man again tomorrow, in what will be his first competitive game in charge at his new home, Fulham. Ferguson's gesture of support last December has not been forgotten.

"That was very gratefully received. I have never been one of his ex-players cum managers that have really sought a lot of advice from him, but I have had key conversations with him and obviously that was one of them," Hughes said yesterday.

"I know there's a pool of knowledge that I can tap into if I ever need to. I have not done in recent times, but that's not through lack of respect at what he can offer, it's just that I have not felt the need to do that. But the fact that he was very quickly on the phone after the Manchester City situation is something that I'm very conscious of, and was very grateful for at that time."

Hughes accepts that his relationship with Ferguson has never been healthier, a relationship that goes back to the day the Scot brought the curly-haired striker back for his second spell at Old Trafford in 1988 for what was then a club record fee of £1.8m.

"In fairness my relationship with Sir Alex is probably better now," he said. "When I was a player, I was grateful that he allowed me to play in his team, and that was probably the top and bottom of the relationship. As a manager it's become closer. But that does not stop me wanting to overcome him, and beat him."

Beating Ferguson was beyond Hughes during his time at Eastlands, as the three Manchester derbies he contested all ended the say way, in victory for United. In contrast, his new club can boast a far more impressive recent record against Ferguson's side, including a memorable 3-0 victory at Craven Cottage last December, bizarrely on the very day that Hughes was sacked by Manchester City.

In fact Fulham are so proud of their run against United that on Thursday they released a celebration box-set of three DVDs entitled Fulham Victories Over Manchester United (£19.99). The mere fact that Fulham have made such a compilation demonstrates the gulf in ambition that Hughes has to bridge between his old employers and his new. That gulf has been emphasised recently with Arsenal's pursuit of the Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, with Hughes insisting he does not want to sell.

Fulham rejected a £2m offer from Arsenal this week, and Hughes says he will pick the transfer-listed Australia goalkeeper against United as long as he passes a fitness test on a sore back. "There was an offer but it wasn't an improved offer, it was the same as the one put forward in May, so that situation has not moved on," Hughes said. "There are plenty of things agents and managers can do to unsettle players. Obviously Mark is aware of the interest from Arsenal, and that's disrupting and a distraction."

The situation with Schwarzer is an early test of Hughes' managerial skills at Craven Cottage, but it appears to be one he is handling calmly and efficiently. Above all, Hughes knows he needs his best men fit and playing against United, as Ferguson does not hold back when his side comes up against one of his former charges, and someone who will surely be a candidate to replace him when he finally decides to call it a day.

Hughes agrees with the Sunderland manager Bruce's assessment that Ferguson wants to win even more when facing one of his old players than he does normally.

"That's probably right," Hughes said. "He likes to make sure that we know our place, so maybe that's what he is doing. He has a lot of affection for the guys who have played under him and taken the next step up to management, and he's always supportive.

"But he always likes to beat you. That does not change."

Taking on Ferguson: Head to Head

*Hughes vs Ferguson

Tomorrow's match will be the 13th time Mark Hughes has faced his old manager Sir Alex Ferguson. The Welshman trails 7-2, with three draws. Hughes twice prevailed over the Scot during his time with Blackburn, winning 2-1 at Old Trafford in September 2005 and 4-3 at Ewood Park later that same season. Ferguson came out on top in all three matches whilst Hughes was in charge of Manchester City.

*Fulham vs United

Fulham have a good recent record against Manchester United, beating them in each of the last two seasons:

19 Dec 2009: Fulham 3-0 Man Utd

Danny Murphy, Bobby Zamora and Damien Duff scored against an injury-hit United side reduced to fielding Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick in central defence.

21 Mar 2009: Fulham 2-0 Man Utd

An early Murphy penalty and Zoltan Gera strike secured revenge for a 4-0 FA Cup defeat a fortnight earlier. United had both Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney dismissed.