Hughton’s back to salute fans
manager, an emotional manager or a calmer manager, we all go through the same ups and downs and the same emotions.
“But the support I got from Newcastle supporters when I lost my job took away any bad feeling I might have had. It really helped. Particularly because when I lost my job, we were in a good position in the Premier League.
“It also helps that you can look at yourself and think you have done the best job that you can, you have worked as hard as you can – if you can walk away and feel that you couldn’t have given any more.”
When Hughton was dismissed by Newcastle owner Mike Ashley in December 2010, his side sat comfortably in 11th place. Just five weeks earlier they had thrashed Sunderland 5-1 in the Tyne-Wear derby.
He said: “There is a little bit of you that thinks, ‘You shouldn’t have done that to me’ in everybody. But I can honestly say it’s not something I carry around with me or think of now. My first thought when I lost my job at Newcastle and then at Norwich was to get back as quickly as I could and to learn from it, because if you reflect too much, it takes too much away from you.
“But I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t that feeling of, ‘You shouldn’t have done that to me’ because I think there has to be and it has to spur you on.”
What is spurring him on now is trying to emulate Brighton’s promotion charge of last season, when his team fell agonisingly short of automatic promotion by two goals.
Their total of 89 points was the highest for any side finishing third in the Championship this millennium.
An injury-hit 2-0 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday in the first leg of the play-off semi-final proved too much.
But instead of wallowing on their ill luck, Hughton and his side spent the summer planning how they can go one better. An unbeaten start to the season puts them second after four games. Hughton, 57, said: “It was very difficult at the end of last season. The points tally that we had has got teams automatic promotion in most years, so it was an unusual year which was tougher to take.
“But there is a highly motivated group of players here. It’s an exciting place to come and work. And if you’re enjoying your work, then you work harder and it’s more meaningful. That’s added to what the players gave last season and what they want to give again this season.
“As a manager, a coach or a player, where you want to be is at that top end of the table. You want to be in a position where you’re challenging. It’s tough going into games when you’re fighting relegation. We’ve all been there but there’s no better feeling than when you’re pushing to achieve something.
“We were fortunate to do that last season. The players really enjoyed it, they bought into it, they applied pressure on themselves to try and maintain that – and they want some of that again this season.”
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