Hugh admitted he had feared the worst when he arrived at Hughenden to see he pitch looking more like a quagmire.
He said: "There is no doubt that the dreadful conditions mitigated against us. The bottom line is that it was not a day for playing our brand of rugby - and it suited them down to the ground.
"We like to be able to throw the ball around and spread it wide, but these tactics were just about impossible in all the mud.
"The big difference, however, was losing the soft score to Ben Cohen before two minutes were on the clock.
"The try gave them a dose of confidence and we were unable to get our kicking game into gear to make things harder for them.
"We missed touch when we needed to take the pressure off ourselves and that allowed Northampton's big and physical pack to play the sort of game they wanted, by grinding the ball away in our 22-metre zone."
Northampton coach Alan Solomons admitted the weather played a major part in the result.
"Conditions today played a big role and we had to adjust our game accordingly," he said.
"As a result the game was determined up front and I felt that we just had the edge in the forwards.
"It's very important to us to get an away win as we feel that we have to have at least one away win in this competition to go through.
"It was very difficult for both sides, both passing and kicking made difficult by the underfoot conditions but I think in the end we got it right.
"Things haven't run for us recently but the try in the first minute was crucial.
"I didn't put any pressure on the team before the game but they all knew that we had to perform and we are delighted to have come away from Glasgow with that result."