Hughes previously played for Darlington and Scarborough. He played 45 league games scoring 2 times in 2 years for Darlington between the years of 2003–2005. He also played for Scarborough playing 23 league games scoring 2 times for a year between the year of 2005–2006. Hughes joined Gateshead in 2006 having previously been at Scarborough. Having sustained a bad injury during the 2007–08 season, Hughes was released by Gateshead in May 2008.
