Hughes said: "There are no individuals here. Everyone is focused because everyone is against us, or so it seems. It's a motivating factor.
"It's going to be a grind this year. I was fortunate to win promotion out of this division with Reading and I know how hard it is. I don't think the club can go any lower than this. It's at its lowest ebb but the players and fans were wonderful.
"The manager saw where we were going wrong and handed out a few tellings off at half-time, and put a few things right. A lot of people may have questioned why I left Norwich to go to Leeds when I had a year left on my contract there.
"But there was just something that felt right about this club. A lot has gone wrong but I just felt it was right to give it a go and come here and fight. That's the sort of attitude I've been used to.
"Sometimes you can go through your career and your life comfortably but I just saw this as a challenge. People seem to be turning away from the club and things are going against them but I want to come here and stand up for a fight."