Championship 1: Carrick Rangers v Dergview

When the fact that Carrick have won six on the bounce was mentioned, Hughes immediately denounced the anorak method of judging a team’s ability.

“I’m not interested in stats like that,” he said. “I’m more interested in implementing what we do on the training pitch and increasing our performance level to where I want it to be. I am on record as saying that it was well short of that, but Saturday’s match was a great step in the right direction.

“We beat Islandmagee 4-0 in the Steel and Sons Cup and, while that might sound easy-peasy, it certainly was not. I’m very happy with the scoreline and especially because we kept a clean sheet.

“But I was more delighted at the display because we really played very well. It’s a difficult place to go, the game switched there because Ballyclare were at home as well, so we couldn’t use Dixon Park.

“Islandmagee are not a bad side, far from it, and they were playing a team from a higher division and they were well up for the contest and would love to have claimed a big scalp. So we were made to work hard.

“Big Sencer Yilmaz was outstanding, indeed he was unplayable. If he keeps on performing like that he will be a handful for any team to cope with. We have been working with him in the training field and we can see that paying off very handsomely as the weeks go by.

“We are looking very solid now and I know the things we do at training are boring at times but it’s extremely satisfying for us coaches, and I’m sure the players as well, when you see that work being rewarded in a match.

“Our fourth goal on Saturday (scored by Jonny Addis) epitomised that superbly well, with a few little ideas we had put across in training being utilised brilliantly to great effect.

“It’s hopefully onwards and upwards but, getting back to the stats situation, it may seem bizarre but if you give me the choice of playing really well over a period without getting the results you deserve, or getting a run of wins whilst playing to a lower standard, I’ll go for the former any day.

“I say that because, of course, if you keep playing very well, the results will come – whilst, if you get a sequence of results without earning them through performing well, you will eventually get caught out.”

Dergview will be far from pushovers, the north Tyrone men sitting on Carrick’s heels in the league table, three points adrift, and Hughes has a few injury worries to boot.

“We will need to play as well as we did on Saturday and I see no reason why we can’t continue to reach that standard. We have a few injuries and the main squad is down to about 15 at the moment. But we’ll call in a few younger players and I think we’ll be okay,” added Hughes.

Report by Kevin Hughes