| Mark Hughes was the highest-ranked British manager in the Premier League at the end of last season after steering Stoke to ninth place |
Stoke City’s Mark Hughes has expressed concern about the future for British managers in the Premier League as he prepares for his 400th match in charge against Southampton on Wednesday.
“Sometimes experience is underplayed in the Premier League. New managers come in, bright new guys, and people get excited but a lot fall by the wayside,” the Welshman told reporters.
“We (British managers) are dying out, I have to say, but that’s a lot to do with the owners of clubs. It’s a world league, not a British league.”
Hughes was the highest-ranked British manager in the Premier League at the end of last season after steering Stoke to ninth place.
In the current standings, the top seven teams are all managed by foreigners with Welshman Tony Pulis eighth at West Bromwich Albion and Hughes 11th.
Southampton, managed by Frenchman Claude Puel, are 10th.
Hughes, who joined Stoke in 2013 after stints at Queens Park Rangers, Fulham, Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers, said every week was a challenge but he had acquired invaluable experience along the way.
“I’ve been doing it for a long time now and that’s on top of my playing career as well so I’ve got a lot of experience. There’s not too much I haven’t seen but it never stops,” added the former Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea forward.
Stoke host the Saints on the back of a 3-1 defeat by Arsenal on Saturday and a victory would make Puel the 71st manager Hughes has beaten.
“We have got two games coming up at home against teams that may be around us (in the table) and if we can take points it’s obviously going to help our case of being above them after 38 games,” he said.
Champions Leicester City, in 14th spot under Italian Claudio Ranieri, follow Southampton as Stoke’s next visitors.