Cruz feared Hughes would be offered the Newcastle job.
He told The Sun: “If he had gone, I would have been happy for him — if it was something he really wanted. I’d have wished him luck.
“But I’ve only been at Blackburn for six months and it would have been disappointing if he’d left so soon when it’s gone so well for me.
“He was the main reason I took the choice to come here. I listened to him and I believed in what he was trying to do.
“I knew what a great player he was and he told me that as an ex-player he felt he could help me to improve.”
