He told Sky Blue World: "I think I was about 18 when I went on loan to Fulham from Arsenal and I remember him as a player then.
"He was the club captain and was a hugely popular member of the dressing room and I'm sure he has kept those traits as a manager."
About Coleman's style of management from the first couple of training sessions, Hughes added: The manager watches from the sidelines a lot of the time and observes with his assistant Steve Kean taking much of the training, so it's a slightly different style than we have been used to
"But we are all new to him, just as he is to us, so it's important that he gets to know us all and sees us as players. Everybody has been working really hard to show what they can do in training but the most important thing is that we show it in games.
"The session we have had so far have been short and sharp. We had a meeting on Wednesday to run through a few things and we are really looking forward to the Leicester game now.
"I've worked under four managers in four years at Coventry, so I think it's important for the Club that we now get some stability and fingers crossed, that is what will happen."