Rammy Blue said:
have said before, the improvement in form is down to the "finishing line" being in sight for the players of seeing Hughes gone - they are playing for their futures under the new regime.
No.
The improvement in form is down to two main factors.
1) Being knocked out of the UEFA Cup means a small squad lacking strength in depth is no longer playing two games a week, thus having more time to recover and train.
2) After a long season of transition Hughes seems to finally be getting to know what his best team is. Hughes' signings are settling in and becoming more important to us game by game. Hughes did say that his teams are stronger at the back of the season due to his strict fitness regime, maybe, just maybe he was right. Also, Hughes has realised and accepted Elano's strengths and weaknesses and learned how to get the best out of him.
I've made my feelings towards Hughes pretty clear all season, but credit where it's due.