Mark Hughes re-energised and confident of management return

Former Wales boss Mark Hughes says he has renewed energy and enthusiasm and is ready to get back into football management.

The 57-year-old has been on an "extended break" after losing his job at Southampton in December 2018.

Hughes says there have been job opportunities during his spell out of the game but that none felt right.

"I've had enough rest now - I'm ready to go," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"Those opportunities will keep on coming, you'd like to think, given the CV that I've got. You just have to wait for the right one."

Hughes' first taste of management was with Wales in 1999 and during his five years in charge he took his country to the brink of qualifying for Euro 2004.

The Premier League then came calling, with stints at Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Fulham, Queens Park Rangers and Stoke as well as Southampton.

Though he has not been in the dugout, Hughes says he has been keeping his "finger on the pulse of what's going on".

"Obviously you don't actively pursue other people's jobs, that's just not done, but clearly you get an inkling by virtue of results and how teams are doing," he added.

"There are people who will contact you and say 'if this happens would you fancy going into this club?' and so on.

"You have those conversations prior to any actual movement in the market."

For the moment former Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea forward Hughes says he is happy to bide his time.

"At some point you feel you'll get opportunities," he said.

"The timing has to be right for you, it has to be right for the club that wants to make the change. If you're available and it makes sense to both parties, then that's when you begin to talk."