Fulham captain Aaron Hughes says Newcastle United will always be close to his heart.

The Northern Ireland international told fulhamfc.com: "Newcastle will always be in my heart, it was my first club and I spent such a long time there," he admitted. "I went from being a school boy at 16 and then going through their ranks, I didn't leave until I was 25, that's almost ten years of my life. My wife and her family are from there, it's a place I am very familiar with and I will always feel associated with it.

"The people of Newcastle are very passionate about their football and take a lot of pride in their football club no matter how they're faring. The fans were always fair to me and gave me support in games, as player you can't ask much more than that. We got close a few times when I was there, a Uefa Cup semi-final and two FA Cup finals and a semi-final, it was a case of almost but not quite."