Having enjoyed a stellar career in England which contained over 450 appearances for the likes of Lincoln City, Crystal Palace and Bristol Rovers and culminated in Wembley play-off success, Jeff Hughes says the opportunity to return home with Larne in 2018 to play a role in the club’s ambitious project was simply “too good of a chance to turn down”.

Hughes could have remained in England and continued his Football League journey with Tranmere Rovers, but after speaking to Inver Reds owner Kenny Bruce and manager Tiernan Lynch about their vision for the County Antrim outfit, who were then playing in Northern Ireland’s second-tier, he rejoined the club he’d left 13 years prior.

Fast forward six years later and after guiding Larne to Championship glory alongside being a driving force behind their emergence as one of the Irish League’s most dominant forces, Hughes is preparing for his testimonial fixture against a Crystal Palace XI at Inver Park next weekend, which will be the headline event of a Benefit Year that was confirmed for the ex-Northern Ireland international upon announcing his retirement in February 2023.

Larne have enjoyed remarkable progress over recent years, swapping the Championship for Champions League after securing back-to-back Premiership titles, and Hughes admits Bruce has delivered on everything he promised in their initial conversations.

"Having the chance to come back and be part of Larne, my hometown and what's happening with it really being the first-ever full-time team in Northern Ireland and being in there from the start was something I thought was too good of a chance to turn down,” he told the club’s media channel. “I was more than happy to come back home.

"It was a season at a time, but anybody that sat and spoke to Kenny came out believing it. He's unbelievable at that...I've been in football a long time and been promised the world at different places where people say things to get you in the door, but you speak to that man and he's very true to what he says.

"Everything he has said he's done, so with somebody like that talking to you it's easy to buy into the dream. There was never anything you asked for or were promised that you didn't get - it was always done.

"I did have my doubts, but I was happy to be part of it and the club from top to bottom has lived up to everything they said."

placeholder image — Larne's Jeff Hughes and Tomas Cosgrove with the Gibson Cup after the club secured their maiden top-flight title. PIC: Pacemaker Press/Colm Lenaghan

Hughes has been back on the pitch during Larne’s pre-season schedule gaining some match fitness ahead of next weekend’s fixture – his first minutes since the final game of the 2022/23 campaign when the club celebrated lifting their maiden top-flight title.

"It's starting to get real...I'm excited to see what team they bring over,” added Hughes. “I was talking to Iain Dowie the other day and hopefully it'll be a really competitive game for our first team going into the next leg of Europe.

"I've been concentrating on getting some minutes under my belt so I don't embarrass myself in the little cameo I can hopefully play! It has been going really well and I've enjoyed being back on the pitch...it's the first time I've played in a while where I haven't thought about my injuries. I'm really looking forward to it and everything around it."