Former captain Aaron Hughes appointed as Northern Ireland senior coach

He earned 112 caps for his country

Aaron Hughes has been appointed as a senior coach for Northern Ireland ahead of their upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers.

The 43-year-old earned 112 caps for his country and represented the likes of Newcastle, Fulham, Aston Villa and Hearts before retiring in June 2019.

More recently, the former Northern Ireland captain was named technical director at the Irish Football Association in November 2022, focusing on a high performance culture for men’s and women’s teams.

Hughes now joins Michael O’Neill’s backroom staff ahead of the qualifiers, which see Northern Ireland take on San Marino later this month.

“Aaron brings great experience as a player and a level of professionalism which will be particularly invaluable to the younger players in the squad,” O’Neill said.

“Having someone who has represented their country as many times as he did can only be a positive thing to have around the squad.”

Published: 13/03/2023 by Radio NewsHub