He played as a midfielder from 1994 to 2015, notably Premier League for Birmingham City, Charlton Athletic and Hull City as well as featuring in the Football League for Wrexham, Derby County, Burton Albion and Accrington Stanley, in the Conference for Grimsby Town, and for Icelandic club ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar.
[6] Hughes made his debut for Charlton against Bolton Wanderers on 14 August 2004,[7] when he came on as a substitute for Matt Holland who was injured after twelve minutes.
[8] He bagged a brace in a 4–1 FA Cup win over Rochdale at The Valley in January 2005 – his first goals for the club – and scored for the Addicks in a victory over Yeovil Town in the fourth round.
[15] He made 39 appearances that season, including all three playoff matches,[15] as Hull were promoted to the Premier League for the first time in their history.
[24] He made his debut on 1 January 2011 in a 1–1 home draw with Shrewsbury Town in which he was substituted in the 56th minute by Aaron Webster.
[25] After a trial with Conference National team Grimsby Town, in which he played in a behind-closed-doors friendly with Lincoln City,[26] Hughes signed for the club on 31 January 2011 until the end of the season.
[32] On 10 December, Hughes set up Pádraig Amond's opening goal as Stanley beat AFC Wimbledon 2–0.
[35] He made 22 appearances for Accrington, scoring three times,[34] and left the club at the end of the season after contract negotiations broke down.
[36] In March 2013, Hughes joined Scarborough Athletic of the Northern Counties East League Premier Division until the end of the season.
[38] In October 2015, alongside his role with Scarborough, Hughes took up the post of head of coaching at the i2i International Soccer Academy, a facility associated with York St John University.