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Opinion

Surely a bit of a joke that Chris Hughton was even asked this

5 years ago
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Chris Hughton did an astonishing job at Newcastle United.

Taking a relegated team/club in disarray and with no money to spend and Mike Ashley selling every player he got a bid for, with only free transfers and loan signings Hughton fashioned a team that went on to be second tier champions with 102 points.

Then given only a pittance to spend on promotion, Chris Hughton oversaw results such as 6-0 against Villa and 5-1 over Sunderland, as well as a 1-0 win at the Emirates over Arsenal. However, with Hughton refusing to be a pushover, Mike Ashley sacked him despite Newcastle being safely in mid-table.

At Brighton, Chris Hughton has done another brilliant job, taking a club that was 20th in the Championship to one that is now establishing itself in the Premier League, currently 12th.

Owner Tony Bloom has ploughed a fortune into the club in building a new stadium and the rest of the club infrastructure, as well as a £110m net spend on the first team squad since promotion (whilst Rafa Benitez has had zero net spend since winning the Championship title).

So it begs the question…why on earth was Chris Hughton asked this ridiculous question on Thursday?

Whether he was interested in replacing the sacked Martin O’Neill as Republic of Ireland manager.

This is surely a joke, why on earth would he be leaving a progressive ambitious Premier League club for that?

You might as well ask Hughton if he fancies a job in the Scottish Premier League.

No disrespect but the Ireland job would be a massive step down. The reality is that an out of work failed Premier League manager is about the best Ireland will be hoping for, just like when they took on failures Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane back in 2013, both failed Sunderland managers.

Chris Hughton is so underrated by many despite the job he has done at Brighton, and Newcastle of course, before Ashley replaced him with Pardew.

Chris Hughton was very polite and respectful of course yesterday when asked the question but he must have been thinking why on earth are they asking me this?

Chris Hughton asked if he is interested in the Republic of Ireland job:

“I can understand any link but at this moment I have a job here, that I’m desperately keen to do as well as I possibly can in.

“Certainly at this moment I have no interest in the (Ireland) job.

“The only interest I have is in the job here at Brighton.

“I know the feeling of being involved with the Irish team as a player and as a coach because I was Brian Kerr’s assistant for three years.

“But at this moment I enjoy working day to day at a club like this (Brighton), which is a wonderful club and a wonderful environment.

“Would I think about the Ireland job in the future? The honest answer is that I don’t know.

“Will there will be a stage in my career where I might think about international management if there is a particular offer, or will l always want that day to day involvement, I just don’t know.”
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