Hughes happy to exceed expectations for Eriksson

Notts County 5 Bradford City

Gareth Southgate once claimed Sven Goran Eriksson's motivational abilities were more Iain Duncan Smith than Winston Churchill, but the Swede has already made a difference at League Two Notts County.

Eriksson's role at Meadow Lane remains as vague as responses to questions about who is actually behind the Munto Finance consortium that took the club over last month, but he played a part in inspiring Lee Hughes to a debut hat-trick.

Those around the club are keen to stress Ian McParland still takes all the football decisions and not Eriksson, the director of football. But the former England manager was still able to help get the best out of Hughes, who served a three-year prison sentence for causing death by dangerous driving that ended in 2007, thanks to a pre-match chat in the tunnel.

Hughes played in the Premier League with West Bromwich and once cost Coventry £5m, but is still amazed Eriksson has pitched up at Meadow Lane and made a point of acknowledging the Swede after completing his hat-trick. "He didn't come into the dressing room before the game, but I saw him in the tunnel," Hughes said. "He asked me for two goals and I gave him three."

Ben Davies headed the hosts in front and Hughes added two more before the interval and a penalty after the restart before Brendan Moloney scored a superb fifth in the closing stages to increase the Eriksson-induced feel-good factor.

Notts County (4-4-2): Hoult; Moloney, Lee, Thompson, Hunt; Westcarr (Hamshaw, 77), Ravenhill, Bishop, Davies (Clapham, 46); Hughes (Hawley, 63 ), Rodgers. Substitutes not used: Pilkington (gk), Edwards, Canham, Facey.

Bradford City (4-4-2): Eastwood; Ramsden, Rehman, Clarke (Williams, 58), O'Brien; Brandon (Evans, 69), Flynn, Bullock, Colbeck (Hanson, 58); Thorne, Boulding. Substitutes not used: McLaughlin (gk), Bateson, Osborne, O'Neill.

Referee: P Gibbs (West Midlands).

Booked: Notts County Rodgers; Bradford Bullock.

Man of the match: Hughes.

Attendance: 9,396.