TYNE FOR A PARTY
BRIGHTON boss Chris Hughton is aiming to celebrate three years in charge of the club with a win today at Newcastle.
The Seagulls were in the Championship, one place above the relegation zone, when he took over from Sami Hyypia on December 31, 2014.
He rebuilt the side, leading Brighton to the play-offs in 2016 and promotion to the Premier League a year later.
He hopes to celebrate the progress he has made at St James’ Park, where he started his managerial career in 2009.
Brighton go into today’s game in 12th place in the Premier League. They are three points ahead of Newcastle, who sacked Hughton in December 2010, even though he had got them promoted from the Championship at the first attempt.
“In our game most managers are not there after three years,” said Hughton.
“I’m really delighted where we are at this moment and probably ahead of what I thought.
“When I came in it was a difficult season, like any club can have.
“We’d had two play-off seasons before that.
“It’s very difficult in the third one. At that stage, the ambition, of course, was ultimately to get to the Premier League, but there are only a few clubs that can do it.
“A lot of them are teams that have gone down and come back up again.
“The two that have not been there before are ourselves and Huddersfield.
“Not many do it, so am I in front of where I thought I would be in three years’ time? Yes. It’s nice to go back but only if you win.”