Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has said that he is desperate to win silverware with the club ahead of their League Cup semi-final with Liverpool on Tuesday.
Hughes lifted two league titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups and the Cup Winners' Cup twice during his playing days with Manchester United and Chelsea, but is yet to win any silverware as a manager.
The Welshman is eager to end that record and remind himself of the winning feeling that accompanies trophy success, which he believes is all too rare for British managers in the modern game.
"I remember those emotions, the excitement and pride you get from winning things, and I'd love to be able to do it as a manager. I have been close, with a couple of FA Cup semi-finals and a League Cup semi-final at Blackburn. I got to a League Cup semi-final at City but got sacked before we played it, although that's another story," Hughes told reporters.
"I haven't been able to make that next step and I would love to get some silverware. I had a fantastic playing career and that was the norm for me - that was what my expectation was. As a manager, it's more difficult. There's a debate around British managers and the opportunities they have. If you look over the years, the top jobs in this country haven't really become available.
"At Man United, Sir Alex [Ferguson] was there for a long time, Arsene Wenger's still in situ, Chelsea don't appoint British managers and Man City was an opportunity which unfortunately was taken away from me. A lot of foreign managers are able to build their CVs domestically, so when people look, they can see they've won cups and leagues - for British managers, that is a bit more difficult."
Stoke are in their first League Cup semi-final since 1971-72, when they went on to lift what remains the only major trophy in the club's history.
Barney Corkhill
