Matchday Diary | Amber Hughes

First thing

An away game is a case of getting up, getting ready and getting to Compton as it’s an early start, but on home matchdays we obviously have a bit more time. Before a game at Telford, we’d get in for breakfast, but I always eat at home first anyway. I do try and chill as much as I can in the morning, because we don’t meet until 11 and I’ll be up from about or awake from 8, so I do try to have a bit of a chilled morning, whether it's just watching telly or having some food, before I head over to Telford.

Matchday routine

I try to treat every matchday the same – nice and chilled. When you work in the week as well, a matchday is almost like one of the mornings you get where you can just chill a bit. I am thinking about the game, but I do try to use it as a bit of a morning where it’s my own time and I can just relax. Whether that’s watching the telly or popping out for a walk, but generally it’s just wake up and chill.

Food and drink

I always have eggs on toast with beans, with a cup of tea. I generally have the same food for breakfast, regardless of whether we’re playing at home or away, and if we’re having to leave earlier, then I’ll wake up earlier and have that before I go.

Talking a good game

I always talk to my family. They’ll all text me and wish me good luck, because they all know who I’m playing and what’s going on. Then on the way to the game, I’ll speak to a couple of friends or I’ll have spoken to them the night before, just about the game and things like that. But there’s no-one specific that I have to speak to.

On the headphones

I like old school, classic party bangers. Sometimes I will just put a Spotify playlist on and just listen to ones that you can just have a good bop along to which will get me in the mood. The drive there, that’s when I’ve got some time, and I do use it as a time to listen to music, as opposed to thinking too much about the game, because if I start thinking about it, then I’ll just start fretting. I do try and almost zone out of it at that point and just focus elsewhere.

Bus buddies

Generally, I sit with Robbo and Bec Thomas. I wouldn’t say we’re superstitious, but we always sit at the table on the left-hand side, at the front, so we are a bit anal with that. But then we’ll have Beth Merrick, Becks [Anderson] and Char [Greengrass] will sit alongside us. We’ll always have Match of the Day on the telly, and you’ll find out who are the ones who stayed up for it on the Saturday night, those who watched it and those who fell asleep, so that’s quite a nice thing because everyone is chatting about that and about the games at the weekend. Then we’ll just chat, sometimes we play card games with the staff, but generally, we just talk about crap and we have enough to get through us through three hours.

At the ground

I’ll always kind of try and sort out my space. I want to make sure I’ve got what I need, and I’ve got, my drinks and stuff sorted. I do like going and having a look at the pitch, even though we’ve been to most of them, it’s quite nice to get out there and think about the games that we’ve had there before and times where it’s gone well.

Game mode

As soon as I start getting ready, that’s it. We will all chat and talk about loads of things, but once you’re in the changing room and everyone starts getting ready and everyone starts putting the kit on, then it’s a case of, it’s down to business time.

Post-match plans

I usually have some bad food! I’ve been told that’s the best time to have it, so I’m just going off good advice. I’ll always speak to my family afterwards because they’ll always want to know how I’ve got on and then I just like to chill on the sofa when I get back. I’ll always have a nice cup of tea if we get back early, but then it’s just a case of chilling. I’ll speak to the girls, regardless of how the game’s gone, I’ll speak to the girls throughout the evening, and sometimes we’ll go out for food or drink after the game. But it’s nice to do that either way, but it’s always an evening to just chill and relax.

Switching off

If it’s a loss, it’s very hard to switch off and it does affect the rest of the evening and into Monday mornings. I do find it difficult, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. For me, if you can walk away from a game and you don’t care at all, then I think you’re not really in it. I’d rather care and have that emotional attachment to it. While it’s also good to speak to people about different things to kind of distract myself from the result.

This article originally featured in Wolves' official 2025/26 matchday programme. Last season's programmes are still available to purchase online through retailers Curtis Sports.