Carlisle United manager Mark Hughes makes big decision on his future | OneFootball

The former Wales and Premier League striker looks set to remain at Brunton Park, despite relegation to the National League

Carlisle United manager Mark Hughes is set to remain in charge of the Cumbrian outfit, despite their relegation to the National League.

Wales footballing icon Hughes joined United in early February to replace the sacked Mike Williamson, with the club rooted to the bottom of the League Two table at the time.

Despite Hughes' best efforts in the Brunton Park dugout, he could not stop a second successive relegation, meaning Carlisle will play non-league football for the first time in 20 years.

Doubts were cast over Hughes' future at the club, but it appears a decision has now been made over his future.

Mark Hughes to stay at Carlisle United despite relegation from League Two

According to journalist Alan Nixon, 61-year-old Hughes has now decided to stay on at Carlisle, and will try to guide them back to the EFL at the first possible attempt.

Hughes signed a rolling contract at the most northern club in the entire EFL back in February when he arrived, meaning that like many other managers, his deal does not expire at the end of the season.

And he will now continue on the job he signed up to do three months ago, and whilst he failed to keep the Cumbrians within the EFL, a new challenge awaits in the fifth tier of Englsih football - a division that is notoriously hard to get out of due to the fact it only offers two promotion places.

Out of his 18 matches in charge of Carlisle this past season, Hughes won just five of those, and despite winning three on the bounce against Morecambe, Newport County and Port Vale, not enough was done to climb out of League Two's bottom two clubs.

Carlisle United have everything in place to return to EFL at first time of asking

Hughes' status as manager was the only uncertainty heading into the 2025-26 season, as well as the contract situations of players who have been offered new deals, but now that he is in place for the upcoming campaign, things should now be a lot more smooth.

A new sporting director in the form of Altrincham's Marc Tierney has arrived, and whilst he will have a job on his hands to find the right players to fit Hughes' needs, they already have the nucleus of a strong squad that is well-equipped to go for automatic promotion right away.