PSG forward Jese Rodriguez won't get treated at Stoke like I was at Barcelona... we'll look after him, claims manager Mark Hughes

  • Mark Hughes used his own experiences to persuade Jese Rodriguez to join Stoke
  • The PSG star moved to the bet365 Stadium this summer on a season-long loan 
  • Hughes had an unsuccessful year after leaving Manchester United for Barcelona
  • 'I know what players who come from abroad need to be successful,' he said
  • Read more: Team news, probable line up and odds from West Brom vs Stoke

The pitch to new Stoke forward Jese Rodriguez was made over coffee in a hotel in Staffordshire. The empathy came from his new manager Mark Hughes.

‘You try and remember the situations you were once in,’ explained Hughes.

‘You are thinking that he may feel he doesn’t wanna be here so you recognise that and say, “I know it’s difficult to leave Paris Saint-Germain but I have been there and I know that it’s like”. You try and touch on things that resonate with him and go from there. I know what players who come here from abroad need to be successful with us.’  


Mark Hughes used empathy to help Stoke sign Jese Rodriguez from Paris Saint-Germain

Mark Hughes used empathy to help Stoke sign Jese Rodriguez from Paris Saint-Germain

The former Real Madrid forward signed a season-long loan at the bet365 Stadium this summer

Hughes had an unsuccessful year at Barcelona after leaving Manchester United back in 1986

Hughes had an unsuccessful year at Barcelona after leaving Manchester United back in 1986

Hughes is talking specifically about the season he spent as a Barcelona player. It is well known he wasn’t successful after leaving Manchester United for the Nou Camp in 1986, less so how unhappy he was in Spain.

In fact, he didn’t even want to join in the first place.

‘We make sure the players have everything they need here but that didn’t happen with me,’ Hughes told Sportsmail. ‘Fundamentally I didn’t really want to go and when I got there the experience of being alone with no language wasn’t easy.  

‘I had only recently moved out of digs at United even though I was in the first team. People wouldn’t believe it now when they look at the money going to kids who are never likely to be near a Premier League team. But that was where I was at. Terry Venables (then Barca coach) did his best and his mate sorted me somewhere to live but apart from that there was no help. I was just left to my own devices.

‘I assumed things like a car would be in place but they were not. I rented one for months and it cost me an arm and a leg. I was just naive.

‘I had just got in the United team and all of a sudden this huge club abroad wanted me and it escalated. I wasn’t the kind of guy who’d say “Hang on a minute, I don’t really want this”. All of a sudden I was on a plane. Nobody asked me, “Do you really want to go?”. I was just a young guy from a small town near Wrexham and I didn’t really know what I was doing.’  

On joining Barca, Hughes claims: 'Nobody at any point asked me, “Do you really want to go?”'

On joining Barca, Hughes claims: 'Nobody at any point asked me, “Do you really want to go?”'

He had a modest impact in Spain, but Jese's was immediate. He scored a debut goal vs Arsenal

He had a modest impact in Spain, but Jese's was immediate. He scored a debut goal vs Arsenal

Hughes has been improving Stoke for the past four years but it is still not a glamorous club

Hughes has been improving Stoke for the past four years but it is still not a glamorous club

Hughes’ impact at Barcelona was modest. That of ‘Jese’, signed on loan from PSG, has been immediate, a goal at home to Arsenal giving Stoke a win against a top-six team for the first time in over a season.

Despite improvements on and off the field, Stoke is not a glamorous club. There was a time in Hughes’ 14-year career as a club manager that his name was enough to attract new signings. Now it takes a little longer. ‘They have only heard of the top six managers and my name, to a modern player, doesn’t mean much,’ he smiled.

‘They are like, “Who is this Mark Hughes? I have never heard of him”. But they Google who I’ve played for and managed and think that maybe I do know something after all.

‘If we get someone in a room we can pitch a compelling case. They come here and think, “It’s quite nice, pitches are OK”.

‘Normally we get to speak to them because they aren’t playing or their coach doesn’t like them. So first they want to know if they are going to play. We are a good team but if we want to push forward we need the next level player.

‘We can’t always afford to buy them so this is what we do. And when they are with us, we’ll give them everything they need.’  

The ex-Manchester United and Chelsea forward was speaking to Sportsmail's Ian Ladyman

The ex-Manchester United and Chelsea forward was speaking to Sportsmail's Ian Ladyman

 

Hughes was a bull of a centre forward and can be a bullish manager. But not all of it comes naturally to him. For example, standing in front of his squad can still make him nervous.

‘If someone just walked in and tried to do it then it would scare them witless,’ he said. ‘For me that’s something out of my comfort zone, too. Of course it is. It’s not my personality.

‘I am not front of house. I am different. But I do it because it’s part of my job. And it’s more stimulating because you force yourself to do things you are not comfortable with.’

Hughes, still only 53, has always been a different person on or off the field or touchline.

He may not class himself as ‘front of house’ but he still believes he is the one person who may have been able to save Eric Cantona that night at Crystal Palace.

Hughes’ was the Frenchman’s strike partner at United the season Cantona leaped into the Selhurst Park stands in 1995. But that night he was at home with an injured knee.

‘I think I am the only person who thinks I may have prevented it,’ he laughed.  

The Stoke boss believes he could have saved Eric Cantona (R) from that night at Crystal Palace

The Stoke boss believes he could have saved Eric Cantona (R) from that night at Crystal Palace

‘There were times when Eric’s eyes would just go black and that was it,' the Welshman said

‘There were times when Eric’s eyes would just go black and that was it,' the Welshman said

Hughes’ first dressing room was one at Old Trafford containing players like Bryan Robson 

Hughes’ first dressing room was one at Old Trafford containing players like Bryan Robson 

‘There were times when Eric’s eyes would just go black and that was it, you had lost him. You just knew something was going to happen. I would recognise those moments and encourage him to the other side of the pitch or take care of the defender who was getting to him.

‘I am not saying he wouldn’t have done it because he certainly did have the potential! But I just may have seen the signs…’

Hughes’ first dressing room was one at Old Trafford containing players like Bryan Robson and Gordon McQueen.

‘It was intimidating,’ he said. ‘These were big names and Robbo was the captain. But we were all close. Whatever Robbo said, we just did it. No questions asked. It’s different now.’

What those early days at United taught him was the power of the collective and one senses he has never forgotten it.

A quiet, under-stated man by nature, he will get on the front foot when necessary and last weekend he felt his team needed it.

Aware that some Stoke supporters were dissatisfied and also sensitive to Marko Anautovic’s comments that he left for West Ham as he wanted a ‘bigger and ambitious’ club, Hughes said it was time to ‘circle the wagons’.

It seemed unusually early rhetoric but he reflected: ‘Yeah, I ramped it up as I was a bit naffed off about the negativity and what people were saying.

‘It worked as the Arsenal game was on TV and I wanted people to judge us on what they saw and not what they had heard.  

Some Stoke fans were dissatisfied when Marko Anautovic called West Ham a 'bigger' club

Some Stoke fans were dissatisfied when Marko Anautovic called West Ham a 'bigger' club

‘Where (Anautovic) thinks West Ham are compared to us is not where we see it' said Hughes

‘Where (Anautovic) thinks West Ham are compared to us is not where we see it' said Hughes

‘As for Marko, where he thinks West Ham are compared to us is not where we see it. We understand why players move on and up but we couldn’t understand why he decided to move sideways. That’s the thing we had against Marko.’

Stoke finished in the top 10 in the first three of Hughes’ seasons but fell below that last time. Hence the dissatisfaction heard from some supporters.

‘You shouldn’t read social media as you may get the wrong impression,’ he smiled. ‘But I am aware of it. Last season was underwhelming and I know the expectations of fans were not met. Fair enough. Mine weren’t either.

‘Maybe there should be some more trust as I have been doing this a long time, but everything these days has to be immediate.

‘There has been some noise about not spending, not having a go. But we will always have a go as long as I am here. We can pay competitively and the owners are first class.

‘We beat the clubs around us last year, but that wasn’t enough for us or the fans. There is not much excitement round that is there?

‘We have beaten Arsenal now and ticked some boxes and I genuinely think we are stronger this time.

‘We don’t have the depth of clubs that have £30million full backs on the bench. But from 1-11 there is not a marked difference between us and the Man Utds and Man Citys and on any given day we can run those people close.

‘This may come back to bite me, obviously…’  

Last season was the first time in Hughes' tenure at Stoke that they finished outside the top 10

Last season was the first time in Hughes' tenure at Stoke that they finished outside the top 10

 

As we sat down in Hughes’ office overlooking the training pitches, he asked with a smile: ‘Just tell me what you want me to say.’

At that moment, a big image of Tony Pulis appears on the TV but the moment passes. Half an hour later, we finally get around to the topic of his predecessor at Stoke and the man whose West Bromwich team he faces in the Black Country tomorrow.

The game is live on TV and no wonder. The discord between the two men has been obvious for some time, a story played out against a background of absent handshakes and ramped up last season following the fractious transfer of striker Saido Berahino from West Brom to Stoke.

So what is with you and Tony?

(Pause, smile) ‘I have no idea what you mean. What is it? There is nothing at all. He is probably passionate on the sidelines and so am I. Maybe you should tell me…’

Well what did you say to each other when you met at the Premier League manager’s meeting in the summer?

‘I don’t think we had a long chat. I think we acknowledged each other and shook hands and wished each other the best for the season. That was the top and bottom of it. What is your take on it?’

I think Tony doesn’t like you hinting your Stoke team play more attractive football and that you don’t like it when you lose, against him or anyone.

(No reply)  

Stoke face West Brom on Sunday. Hughes' discord with Baggies boss Tony Pulis is obvious

Stoke face West Brom on Sunday. Hughes' discord with Baggies boss Tony Pulis is obvious

But he says of their relationship: 'He is probably passionate on the sidelines and so am I'

But he says of their relationship: 'He is probably passionate on the sidelines and so am I'

So why are you bothered?

‘Maybe I am not bothered. Are other people? I don’t know. But you should take people as you find them. It’s never got to any level between us because I just don’t know him as a person. It’s wrong to take a view on people you don’t know but everybody does it. People see me on TV and don’t like my hair or my voice. There is no logic to it. But I don’t dislike anybody. It’s not what I am about.

Did you play against each other?

‘I wouldn’t have thought so.’

You will have been pleased to take Darren Fletcher from them?

‘Yeah and Darren has been everything and more than I had hoped he would be. First class.

‘But they have signed Gareth Barry, another player I know well, and they will think he is a like-for-like replacement.

West Brom are good at what they do aren’t they? They got a win at Burnley on the back of little possession... 

Stoke signed Darren Fletcher from Pulis' West Brom and Hughes said he has been 'first class'

Stoke signed Darren Fletcher from Pulis' West Brom and Hughes said he has been 'first class'

‘Yes and so did we in our game. West Brom know exactly what they are about and they are effective. When you get your team functioning and doing exactly what you want them to do then it’s a sign of a good team. 

'They are arguably the best at what they do. In terms of the way they affect other teams. It’s a different way to how we do it and how other teams do it but there is no right and wrong way. It’s just a winning way and they have points on the board.’

Hughes clearly had no wish to inflame what is likely to be another fierce afternoon at the Hawthorns tomorrow. He will hope, as always, that his team speaks for him.

The Welshman is still a relatively young manager and insists he is still learning.

‘Managing never replaces playing but it’s the next best thing,’ he said. ‘It still gives me a real buzz, like it always did. I have been in professional sport since I signed at United at 14 and I feel very lucky that I have had the opportunity.

‘But you can’t fly by the seat of your pants. You have to develop and grow. That goes for me, and this team.’

'West Brom know exactly what they are about and they are effective,' he said of the Baggies

'West Brom know exactly what they are about and they are effective,' he said of the Baggies

 

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