[18 AUG 01]

There is one name on the lips of football fans in Coventry right now – Lee Hughes.

To be described by your former manager as “the best goal-scorer outside the Premiership”, in the week following your transfer to a new club is no minor accolade.

WBA boss Gary Megson didn’t have to talk up Hughes as some managers do when trying to sell a player. He’d already parted company with the famed 'Ginger Ninja'.

Megson didn’t have to say anything about Hughes at all, yet the fact remains that hardly a day has gone by since the completion of the £5,000,001 transfer that set the Midlands, if not the rest of UK football talking, that Megson hasn’t referred to Hughes in some way.

Much of what Megson has said has focused on how difficult it is proving for West Brom to replace the striker, even with the proceeds of his transfer to the Sky Blues. So much so that Albion are now turning their attentions to the world of non-league football where they found Hughes, then with Kidderminster Harriers, in the first place.

The fact remains though that Lee Hughes is now a Coventry City player and he made the best possible start by scoring on his debut in last weekend’s 2-0 victory at Stockport.

His goal, and that win, has raised expectations in Coventry to unprecedented heights. Suddenly the disappointment and emptiness of last season’s relegation from the Premiership are not forgotten but certainly eased more than a little.

With the first home fixture pairing us with Wolves, in the first of a number of clashes this season with Midlands rivals, the opportunity will come to compare Hughes with former striker Cedric Roussel. Cedric is, thankfully, restored both physically and mentally after a torrid time with injury and personal traumas dogging him throughout the last few months.

Fans often wonder why some players take longer to settle at a new club than others, and few ever find out what has gone on in the background.

It was only recently revealed, for example, that Gary McAllister played for Coventry City while his wife was battling against cancer, one of the major factors in his eventual transfer to Liverpool.

One can only hope that Lee Hughes, Keith O’Neill and Youssef Safri all have a trouble-free switch to Highfield Road. Hughes has only to negotiate the M6 every day, while O’Neill has to relocate from the North-East and Safri is moving from another country. Keep that in mind when you feel moved to yell and tell them what you think of their performance.

So far for Hughes it’s been a dream start. But, as his manager has already pointed out and the rest of us have had to acknowledge after the euphoria of that 2-nil opening day score-line, we have only had one match so far.

But tell that to any Coventry fan right now. So far as the City supporters are concerned at the moment – “there’s only one Lee Hughes” – and he plays for our team!

So enjoy him. Cheer him. Celebrate with him. Help him – and our other new faces – settle in well and settle in quickly, if possible, because one thing is certain – we do not want to find ourselves settled in this Division any longer than we have to.