Mark Hughes has been appointed Stoke City manager. The appointment comes six months after Hughes was sacked as manager of QPR.

Stoke will announce the appointment at a press conference at 11 am, with a 3 year deal for Hughes the expected contract.

Hughes returns to management following a turbulent time at Loftus Road, where he won just 8 of 34 games in charge.
Hughes has previously manager Wales, Blackburn, Fulham and Manchester City.

Stoke chairman Peter Coates told The Stoke Sentinel he feels Hughes has the right qualities required to make Stoke a success, while also placing the manager’s failures at QPR into the larger context of a career that has seen Hughes manage several clubs.

"I look at results," Coates said. "He's also a thoughtful, intelligent man with an intense desire to win.

"We had lots of inquiries about the job, including some very interesting names, but we decided Mark Hughes was a fit for us.

"His record speaks for itself. He has done excellently by anyone's standards, but we also understand that whoever we choose, some people will disagree and I don't have a problem with that."

Coates understands that some opponents to the appointment will focus on the poor results Hughes achieved at QPR, but did not want that to be the defining issue when considering Hughes for the role.

"Because that's one piece of his career that hasn't gone well, I think he feels this is a chance to prove what a good manager he is.

"Those who focus on QPR, that's fair enough, but they should look at the bigger picture and see what he has achieved throughout his career.

"He did very well with Wales and then at Blackburn.

 "At Manchester City there was a change of ownership and I don't think anybody can say Mark didn't do a good job there.

"Then at Fulham he had a very solid season and they were very pleased with him as manager there.

"At QPR the facts are he took over from Neil Warnock and kept them up. I believe his record in the second season was better than Harry Redknapp's after he took over from Mark.

"So there at QPR you had three very well respected managers who all had a difficult time at a club that was in transition with new owners and a new administration."