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Northern Ireland's most capped outfield player, Aaron Hughes, has hinted he could sign up for one more campaign after the experience of Euro 2016. Hughes, 36, first announced his international retirement almost five years ago, but was persuaded to recommit at the start of Michael O'Neill's tenure and has gone on to become a record breaker in green and white. He took his appearance tally to 103 caps in France and is considering extending his 18-year stint, even though he is currently without a club following a brief spell with Melbourne City. "I'll wait to see what happens in terms of club football and the options I have, I'm really not sure," Hughes said. "If the right option is there and I can still compete I'd certainly look to carry on if I can. "I'm a free agent, but I was just looking to enjoy this experience, immerse myself in the competition. Now that it's over I'll have a look. "I need to get myself back to Australia, get my things packed up and go from there." Hughes has been an important player for Northern Ireland since his debut in 1998, captaining the team in historic wins over Spain, England and Sweden during that time. But the defender believes the taste of tournament football, particularly the 2-0 win over Ukraine, has been his best experience with the national team. He travelled to France expecting to be a back-up player, but was a beneficiary of O'Neill's bold tactical switch and ended up playing three full matches on the right side of defence. "I wasn't expecting it to be honest," Hughes said. "Leading up to the competition over the past few months I was just working to keep myself in the best possible shape so that if I was required I'd be able to take part. "To start three games and come through all but one of the matches has been a surprise, but one I've absolutely relished. "I never thought I would have the chance to do it and once the disappointment goes I can look back over the last three or four weeks and say it's been the best experience. "It's got to be the best ever. Just the feeling that day against Ukraine... the emotion, the atmosphere, it was like nothing I've ever experienced. "If you could bottle what we had that day and any time you're feeling down just open up the bottle and have a drink, that would be amazing. "It was an experience I'll never forget."
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