Andy Hughes will make a poignant return to Leeds United on Saturday - aiming to help disappoint the fans who still hold him in high regard.

Huddersfield Town’s first-team coach spent three and a half years as a player at Elland Road, skippering the side and becoming something of a cult hero.

WATCH: Coach Andy Hughes

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The 38-year-old has faced Leeds once since leaving for Scunthorpe United in January 2011 after 139 appearances.

On that occasion in April 2013, he was in the Charlton Athletic side who won 2-1 in a Championship clash at The Valley.

Now he will be eager for table-topping Town to continue their flying start to the second-tier campaign and make it five wins from six.

Stockport-born Hughes arrived at Town this summer to take the place of Mike Marsh, now part of the England Under 17 set-up.

A midfielder or full-back, he was a promotion winner with Notts County (League II) and Leeds, Reading and Charlton (League I).

He started his career at Oldham Athletic and also played for Norwich City and coached at Bolton Wanderers, Rotherham United and Crystal Palace before joining Town.

Leeds fans’ website The Scratching Shed said of Hughes: “There’s no single reason Whites fans hold Hughesy in such high regard.

“He battled hard on the pitch, was proud to wear the shirt, is always entertaining in interviews and from the moment he signed, you sensed there was nowhere else on earth he’d rather be.

“Andy Hughes was living the dream at Elland Road and did so with a humility which quickly endeared him to the fans, fully aware of and brutally honest about his own limitations but never allowing them to excuse a bad performance.

“What he lacked in ability he more than made up for in hard graft.

“Andy Hughes was never going to lead us to domestic and European glory, but when called upon he gave everything he could for the cause.

“That’s all Leeds United fans really ask of any player.”

After joining Town, Hughes told the Examiner: “I had a great time at Leeds and a good relationship with the fans, and I would never day a bad word about the club.

“But things change and now I work for Huddersfield Town, simple as that.

“I have been given a great opportunity here and I am grabbing it with both hands.”