"Danny's a strong voice, both on the field and off it. He has a good influence on the group and that's key," Hughes told fulhamfc.com. "When you do a lot of coaching of tactical and technical work you have to have an intelligent footballer to grasp the areas and issues which are important to a team, and Danny has that ability to grasp concepts very quickly and understand what I want in terms of what we do on the training ground.
"When you're trying to change things a little bit he's important because he understands what I'm asking of him and the team and he can translate that on the field of play for his team-mates.
"He's a good footballer first and foremost, which is key, but the intelligence he has as a professional in understanding when changes need to be made in games, or when the opposition are giving you problems, he recognises those situations and is able to have an influence on those on the field of play."