Hughes just loves bargain hunting

London: Managers dream of having the transfer budget which goes with being at the world's richest club — but Mark Hughes is relieved to have escaped it.

In his last job at Manchester City, Hughes had enough money to sign any footballer on the planet. But the Fulham boss prefers the challenge presented by a tighter budget, and the opportunities it offers for spotting unheralded, value-for-money talent.

That is why he took such satisfaction, during Saturday's 2-0 win over Wigan, from the displays of Carlos Salcido and Moussa Dembele. The pair costs a combined £6.6million (Dh38.8 million) — or around a third of what City paid for the now unwanted striker Roque Santa Cruz.

"I enjoy that part and maybe that was forgotten at my last club," said Hughes. "People just assumed I cherry-picked players and spent lots of money. . . which I did! But I had a track record prior to that of picking decent players and I'll back my judgment on that time and time again.

"I don't like harking back to the City situation because it's got nothing to do with me, but at that time they wanted to run very quickly. So we had to get numbers in and maybe the numbers were too many too soon. When you've got time you can use your judgment, use your contacts and find good players."

Blessing in disguise

That certainly seems to be the case with Salcido — and Paul Konchesky's departure to Liverpool now looks like something of a blessing in disguise.

‘We had a situation with Konchesky that presented itself as soon as I walked in the door,' said Hughes.

‘We tried to resist the attention of Liverpool and we did for a few weeks. But we realised we should look at the options and see if we could get someone in who wouldn't weaken us.

"If I'd felt Konchesky leaving would weaken us, I wouldn't have allowed it to happen. With Carlos [Salcido], having seen him play, the level he's played at and the experience he has, it wasn't a risk letting Konchesky leave. Now you're seeing a player who really enjoys the Premier League." Andy Johnson played his first Fulham match at Craven Cottage after a nightmare 14-month battle with three separate injuries. "I hope I never experience anything like it again," he said.