MARK Hughes is keen to find the net with more regularity after notching his third of the season in Accrington Stanley's weekend win over Chesterfield.

The centre back opened the scoring in the 4-0 Wham Stadium drubbing which saw the Reds climb to fourth in the League Two table.

And the 31-year-old is keen to add more goals to his game and follow in the footsteps of Matty Pearson who scored nine times from the backline for Stanley last season before leaving for Championship side Barnsley.

“Jimmy Bell (Stanley assistant manager) is always telling us that we don’t score enough goals from corners,” said Hughes.

“We haven’t been scoring enough goals from the back, especially since losing a defender who is as prolific as Matty Pearson.

“It’s always nice to be able to chip in especially when you win. When you go up there from the back, you don’t just go up to make up the numbers.

“I’ve always tried to be a five or six goal a season man so if I can get that this season then I’ll be happy and it will go a long way to helping towards more wins."

Stanley relied heavily on the goals of frontmen Billy Kee and Kayden Jackson early in the season but midfielder Sean McConville has two in his last two games while Jordan Clark has contributed five goals from the other flank.

It means John Coleman's men have managed 42 in their 25 league games, the fourth highest total in League Two.

And Hughes is keen to keep lending a hand.

“If you spread the goals around then you put yourself in a much stronger position," the former Morecambe man told Stanley's official website. "Scoring goals breads confidence and the first goal’s always massive in this league.”

Hughes' strike against the Spireites capped a well worked corner routine before the centre back finished smartly.

“The gaffer will take the credit for the corner,” Hughes added. “He mentioned something to Billy and Sean about the corner routine and then we’ve scored from one in a match.

“Kayden did brilliantly to cut it back. I managed to get around to the back post to give myself a little sniff, luckily enough the ball fell to me, I just hit it and thankfully it’s gone in.”

Th Reds are now just a point off the automatic promotion places with a game in hand on the three sides immediately above and below them, although the four teams currently in the play-off positions all have 43 points with Stanley heading the pack on goal difference.

Coleman's side are on the road at Cheltenham Town this weekend bidding to make it three wins on the bounce in the league for the first time this season.