Mark Hughes Gets OBE

OBE
By Martin Williams
June 12 2004

Wales Manager, Mark Hughes has been awarded with an OBE in the Queen's birthday honours list. It is added to the MBE he received in 1998. After receiving the award for putting Wales back on the World Footballing map, Hughes spoke of the pain of having to watch Euro 2004 on TV.

"What timing, the day of the start of the 2004 European Championships!" said Hughes, who thanked his family, staff and the Welsh players for helping him achieve the award.

"This is a great honour for me, but I can promise all Welsh football supporters that nobody will be hurting more watching the finals on television than me.
"Missing out was a painful lesson and I still feel it.

"We did everything we could to be in the finals of the competition, but we could not get to the next level even if it was not for the lack of trying.

"But we must regroup, dust ourselves down and go again for the 2006 World Cup campaign.

"And I believe we will be stronger for the hurt that we have been through."