Crawley Town v Bradford City: Mark Hughes's message to Wrexham AFC and surprise take on League Two

Quick as a flash, the Welshman said: "There’s nobody as big as us though, is there?"

In the final analysis, most would surely agree that Hughes is right. The presence of Phil Parkinson's Wrexham - the talk of the lower leagues due to the involvement of Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney - and Notts County, to a lesser extent, at least ensures that the pressure to do well might be shared.

In regards to expectation, Hughes wouldn't have it any other way.

Speaking ahead of today's opener in West Sussex, he said: “It’s going to be a challenge.

"There are some good clubs with big budgets who are going to have a go and we’ll have to face up to that.”

For Hughes, League Two has been a pleasant surprise by and large.

Not the 'crash-bang-wallop' he envisaged when he took over at Valley Parade in February 2022, but something far more nuanced. The City chief, seeking to make amends after his side bowed out in the play-off semi-finals last term, continued: “I think that’s the way it’s going. There are a number of teams in the league that have a good understanding of the game tactically and what affects the opposition.“That certainly has improved right across the board. You can go from Premier League level right down the pyramid. "Everybody is trying to play a little bit more maybe.

"It's certainly not how I anticipated the league to be. Looking at it from afar, where it was always viewed as maybe just long balls, get after it, chase it, plenty of endeavour but not a great deal of skill.

"But that’s completely at odds to what it actually is.”