After a short break in Abu Dhabi and a meeting with owner Sheikh Mansour, Hughes is ready to get City's season back on track again after five successive draws.
What has been dubbed a mini-slump by those who expect much better from a team put together at the not inconsiderable cost of £200m over the past three transfer windows, has left the Blues in sixth spot ahead of this weekend's trip to Liverpool.
It is two places below the standard required for Champions League qualification, which has been put forward as the minimum target for Hughes to regard the campaign as a success.
But the Welshman refuses to be drawn in by such arbitrary goals. His wants improvement. And in that sense, the march is inexorable.
"With the resources we have, people are saying the top four is the minimum requirement. That is actually not the case," said Hughes.
"The clubs you have to overcome are not just the best teams in the Premier League, they are also some of the best teams in the world.
"That is the challenge for everybody. And it is very difficult.
"What we are looking for is progress and I would defy anyone to say we have not made progress from where we were last year."
It is a source of pride for instance that City are the only top flight club not to have lost more than once.
Even that defeat, in the sixth minute of injury-time at Manchester United, was extremely unlucky.
If the season so far can be divided into three, with each cut-off coming at an international break, the United defeat was at the start of the second, which was not quite as good as the stellar first.
It is the third one where Hughes' team stalled. Yet they still have a game in hand of all the teams above them, with the exception of Arsenal, whom they will meet in the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup on December 2.
"We have played 13 games in all competitions and have been beaten once," said Hughes.
"Ideally we would like to have changed some of those draws to wins but we have reached a consistent level that allows us to compete in every game.
"In terms of where we were last year and where we are now, it is a different place. I pleased with the progress we are making and that will continue. I am certain of it."
The transition from big club with big history but no chance of sustained success to the richest in the world is not an easy one.
It takes time to adjust at all levels, and Hughes realises the process takes time.
"It is an education for everyone to see the scrutiny that comes with being a big club. Everything is changing about the perception of Manchester City," he said.
"That is a learning process for everybody and is something that will never be the same again."
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Kippax 36, High Heath (17/11/2009 at 10:55)