Saints' boss Hughes is relishing the opportunity to lead his first squad to reach the FA Cup final at Wembley. The 54-year-old is hoping that a win could propel Southampton to Premier League survival.
He said: ''We can still learn from the game itself and that is good from my point of view, in terms of leading into the Bournemouth game [next Saturday]. Anything that we learn or feel we can introduce, having seen it against Chelsea, will be a benefit to us.''
Hughes added: ''I think it is fair to say that we will have a go and give it our best shot and see where it takes us.''
From a personal perspective, the former Blackburn boss said: ''I am looking forward to it. The competition itself is one that has figured highly in my career as a player and as a manager. I have always enjoyed the challenge of it.''
He noted: ''When you get to the latter stages, clearly everybody wants to win. The earlier stages in this day and age, it wasn't always the case, as for a lot of the big boys the FA Cup is lower down in their list of priorities.''
''But funnily enough, as you get nearer to semi-finals and finals, all of a sudden their priorities change and they gain a little more interest in it,'' he added.