I’ve still got soft spot for Magpies, says old boss Hughton
BRIGHTON manager Chris Hughton says he is still ‘very fond’ of Newcastle United and admits it has been good to be at the top of the Championship alongside the Magpies.
Hughton, of course, managed Newcastle to the Championship title in 2010, guiding the club to an immediate return to the Premier League in his first manager’s role.
After securing memorable wins over Aston Villa (6-0), Sunderland (5-0), as well as a 1-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, Hughton was sacked in December 2010 and replaced by Alan Pardew.
Many Magpies fans saw the sacking as unfair and he is still held in high regard on Tyneside.
Since then, he has managed at Birmingham and Norwich before transforming Brighton from Championship relegation candidates in the 2014/15 season, to promotion two seasons later.
If the Seagulls beat Norwich at Carrow Road tonight, they will be crowned champions.
And Newcastle could join them as a Premier League side on Monday – if results go their way this weekend.
“I’m very fond of (Newcastle),” said Hughton on Sky Sports’ EFL Weekly podcast.
“Obviously I left there some years ago, but it was a wonderful club to work for. It is the club that gave me my opportunity in management and for that I will always be grateful for.
“There is a lot of good people there and it has been good to be at the top of the division alongside them.
“There are a group of teams now who have an opportunity to join us and it would probably be unfair for me to single out a particular team.
“But like I say, Newcastle is a club that I’m very fond of.”