Carlisle United should ignore elephant in the room after big Mark Hughes news | OneFootball

United's boss for next season will be the Welshman.

Finally, after weeks of speculation, it has been confirmed that Mark Hughes will be Carlisle United's head coach for next season.

'Sparky' wasn't able to save the club from relegation after arriving at Brunton Park in February, but the fans took to him in a way that they didn't with his predecessor, Mike Williamson.

Prior to the end of the season, much of the noise coming out from Hughes suggested that he was going to stay, but, oddly, after the final match of the term, when he was serenaded off the pitch following Carlisle's 2-2 draw with Salford City, he seemed less certain about his future.

Thankfully, the rumour mill stopped spinning on Monday night when the former Manchester City and Wales manager's stay was confirmed. No contract details were included in the announcement, but he was on a rolling deal when he first joined the club.

Mark Hughes' record as Carlisle United manager

While survival was not achieved, which means the Blues will not be in the EFL for the first time in more than two decades next season, Hughes did take steps to improve the team's performances, but the 1.17 points per game that they managed wasn't enough to beat the drop.

Five wins in 18 games isn't the sort of record that screams that said manager should remain in position. Three of those victories came in the last six games of the campaign.

Understandably, this made some elements of the fanbase feel a little less attached to Hughes than others, not necessarily that they were completely opposed to the idea of having him back, just less of a strong sentiment that he was definitely the right man for the job.

And it's only right to raise questions and look thoroughly at the situation. It's something that, on the football side of things, Carlisle have struggled to do for the past couple of seasons.

In the case of Hughes, the club's hierarchy were right to look past the points that the Welshman accrued in his first 18 games in charge, because there are plenty of other factors behind why he was as good an option as any to get Carlisle back to the EFL next season.

Carlisle were right to see the upside in keeping Mark Hughes

The re-shaping of this squad is going to be massive. Eight players will leave the club when their contracts expire. Matthew Dennis and Kadeem Harris, the former of whom was Hughes' only signing, have been offered new deals, and academy product Jack Ellis has had a one-year extension option in his contract triggered.

Hughes knows this squad better than anyone else because the rest of the club's footballing higher-ups from last season, sporting director Rob Clarkson and Head of Recruitment Greg Abbott, have been booted out the door.

The 61-year-old was the only person out there who could have fairly assessed this team and its needs quick enough for Carlisle to make a prompt-ish start with their summer work. Bringing in a new boss who had never worked with these players before was just going to cause more delays.

His experience hasn't even been touched on either. He's managed right across the English footballing divisions and on the international stage. Hughes isn't versed in the challenges of non-league football, but recently appointed Head of Football Operations Marc Tierney, who joined the Blues from Altrincham, should be able to help with that side of things.

More than anything, it's good to just have some clarity on the whole thing. Now the Blues should be able to crack on with their recruitment in what will be their most important summer in years.