STRIKER Craig Hughes has found contentment in his life for the first time since he left school after joining Newport County, which is why he is so delighted that the club are set to re-sign Andrew Thomas.

Hughes, 26, has had two separate spells in prison for football hooligan related charges and was at County when Thomas and former skipper Darren Jones were given custodial sentences for assault last year.

Both players are now out of prison and while Jones is set to sign for Conference outfit Forest Green, Thomas will most likely return to Spytty Park - and Hughes couldn't be happier for them.

He explained: "My off the field problems are well documented, but what I can say is that I am as happy in my life as I have been since I was 15-years old.

"I have a happy personal life with my girlfriend and I absolutely love life at County, it is a fantastic club and I enjoy every aspect of playing here.

"Both Dazza (Jones) and Tubbs (Thomas) are smashing boys, really lovely lads and they have both made a mistake and paid for it. "But I will personally be delighted if Tubbs comes back, he deserves a chance to put the past behind him, to move on and to do well.

"It would be great if Dazza came back as well, but if his future is elsewhere then I wish him the best of luck, he's also a very good player. Both of the boys did the right thing after coming out, they've put their heads down and got on with getting their careers back on track."

Meanwhile, Hughes is fully focused on County's Conference South survival bid and he believes Newport can upset the form book by getting a good result at league leaders Weymouth today (kick-off 3pm), even though the Spytty Park outfit are currently bottom of the league.

"We are confident of surviving in this league and believe we have the potential to win any game in it, we've shown that in our recent away games," he said.

"Our away support is monumental and that boosts us as well, we have ten games after Weymouth and we are sure we can get out of trouble.

Make no mistake about it, the players don't want Southern League football any more than the fans do, we are playing for our futures at the club and in football."

Hughes is also happier about his own form, though strangely he already has half an eye on pre-season training for next season.

"Because of off the field problems of my own making, I have not done a pre-season since 1999 and I can't wait for it to be honest," he said.

"I do feel my sharpness returning though, I think I have played better in the last three or four weeks but know I can do more. I keep telling the gaffer I can do better and I will be disappointed if by the end of the season I am not averaging a goal every other game."