BRYAN Hughes hopes he will not be striding out for Accrington Stanley for the last time when the Reds host Crawley in their final game of the season tomorrow.

The 35-year-old – a veteran of the Premier League with Birmingham, Charlton and Hull – brought vast experience to Stanley when he joined the club in October and has enjoyed his time at the Crown Ground.

Hughes had previously had short spells with Burton, Blue Square Bet Premier outfit Grimsby and Vestmannaeyjar in Iceland during an injury-hit year but has made 21 appearances for the Reds – even if he has only recently returned from a hamstring problem.

And with retirement still far from his mind, the midfielder hopes he can remain part of the Stanley squad next season as they look to move forward under new boss Paul Cook.

“Obviously the gaffer will have his own thoughts about what he wants to do for next season and hopefully I can be a part of that,” Hughes said. “I’ve always said since I’ve been here that I’ve wanted to stay and my view has never changed.

“I still feel fit. I’m over my hamstring injury now and I don’t want the season to end because I’ve been out for six or seven weeks.

“Last season was a bit stop start for me. I was supposed to sign for Notts County but Craig Short got sacked, so everything seemed to peter out a bit.

“Then I ended up going to Burton for a month to help them out but finance wise they had to bring a striker in so I left in January and ended up signing for Grimsby.

“Then I struggled with an injury. I’d play a couple of games and then be out for two, which wasn’t really me throughout my career, I’ve always been quite fit.

“So I took the opportunity to go to Iceland to try to stay fit throughout the summer and give myself a better chance of being right for the English season. It worked out quite well.

“I’ve never lost the enjoyment of playing football. I’ve never lost that spark.”

Many Reds players go into the game with their futures still to be confirmed, with talks ongoing with some over new deals.

Hughes scored the goal that prevented Shrewsbury from sealing promotion at the Crown Ground two weeks ago and is similarly eager to secure the result that will stop third-placed Crawley from going up automatically tomorrow.

Crawley, who brought in Steve Coppell as director of football following manager Steve Evans’ recent departure to Rotherham, need to match the results of challengers Torquay and Southend to claim automatic promotion.

Stanley will claim a top half finish if they get a better result than 12th-placed Bristol Rovers, who beat them 5-1 on Saturday.

“There’s still something to play for, it’s not a last game where it’s just petered out,” Hughes said.

“Crawley have got to come here and beat us to guarantee promotion but we’re obviously going to try to spoil the party for them and finish on a high.

“We’re at home, we can’t forget that, and we want to take maximum points.”