Hughton, who spent 14 years on the Spurs coaching staff between 1993 and 2007, worked under 11 different managers and rose from U21 coach to first-team assistant before eventually stepping into head coaching roles elsewhere.
Speaking exclusively to Flashscore, Hughton described his Tottenham journey as a rare and invaluable apprenticeship.
"My time at Tottenham completely shaped me," he said. "When I was there, I had an unusual football background. I was an under-21 coach and a first-team assistant coach for something like 15 years before I became a head coach. So for me, this was like a long apprenticeship, which is unusual."
Hughton believes that an extended period behind the scenes allowed him to develop gradually by absorbing ideas from multiple head coaches, each of whom left an imprint on his footballing identity.
"Most head coaches would go into the role in a quicker time. For me, it was a longer apprenticeship. So this really shaped how I saw football, how I wanted to coach," he added.
"And of course, once I got my first role as a head coach, which was with Newcastle, I had taken a lot of different aspects from lots of different head coaches which influenced me as a head coach."
Kudus to Spurs 'made a lot of sense'
Hughton also weighed in on Tottenham’s high-profile signing of Ghana star Mohammed Kudus, describing it as both “excellent” and “logical” considering the club’s ambitions.
"I think it was an excellent signing and for me it wasn't a difficult signing," Hughton said.
"He had two years at West Ham. Arguably his first season was probably his best season, but I think in the nature of even the finances, the deal for Kudus to go to Tottenham made a lot of sense to me."
He highlighted the demands and expectations associated with Spurs, particularly at their state-of-the-art stadium, and believes Kudus possesses the qualities needed to thrive.
"The fact that they wanted this type of player… it's a big stage. In England it's a big stage, particularly this stadium," he noted.
"So I think it made sense and he has started his career at Tottenham in good form, particularly for a team that wants to get a lot of crosses into the box. It's been a good start for him and it made sense."
Thomas Frank needs time
Hughton also assessed the early months of Thomas Frank’s tenure as Tottenham manager. Frank arrived after helping Brentford become a stable Premier League side and is now tasked with turning Spurs into a consistent top-four side.
For Hughton, the starting point of any evaluation is Tottenham’s context, especially after last season’s contrasting results.
"I think you have to look at the league position, where the team is at the moment," he said. "The team having won the Europa League last season, which was incredible, but the league position was disappointing."
With Spurs now back in the Champions League and sitting 5th in the league table, Hughton believes the early signs are encouraging ahead of the North London derby against Arsenal.
"So the league position at the moment is a good position. The club, because of last season's success, are in the Champions League. So I think overall you have to say that he has started well."
However, Hughton emphasised patience while highlighting injuries to key players and the natural adjustment period required when a new manager takes charge.
"It takes time. To give Thomas Frank some justification and credit, he's been missing some big players. (Dejan) Kulusevski, (Dominic) Solanke, (James) Maddison, these are all big players. So I think it will take him time."
He added that true transformation doesn’t happen overnight.
"I think when you're a new manager going into a club, sometimes it can take another two windows to formulate your best team, the way that you want to play."
Still, for Hughton, Tottenham are on the right path:
"Taking all that into consideration, it's been a good start. But everybody always wants more, it's normal. But I think it's been a good start."
