Norwich City have sacked manager Chris Hughton with immediate effect.

The Canaries announced today that Hughton and coaches Colin Calderwood and Paul Trollope have been sacked, and that Neil Adams has been appointed as first team manager.

A statement from the club explained why they made the decision:

“The Norwich City Board has taken the decision to give the Club the maximum chance to secure the points required between now and the end of the season to ensure retention of our Barclays Premier League status.

“The recent run of four defeats in our last six Premier League games and six consecutive away league defeats, left the Club with no choice but to act, with five games still to play in the current campaign.”

Adams is a former winger for Norwich City and was the under-18s coach with Norwich. His playing accolades include a league title with Everton in 1987 and 206 appearances in all competitions for Norwich between 1993 and 1999.

The statement from Norwich City said:

“He moved into the Club’s youth coaching set-up and last year guided the young Canaries to their first FA Youth Cup triumph in 30 years, courtesy of a shock victory over Chelsea in the final, in which his side won both legs.

“His long experience as a player, coach and as a media analyst for BBC local radio means Neil understands the Club and its fans extremely well and the Club is sure the Canary supporters will unite behind Neil and the team for the crucial games ahead.

“These final five games will be a huge test for us, and everyone must step up to the mark. But with the full backing of these magnificent Norwich supporters we will have every chance of achieving our objective.”

Details are few and far between regarding the breaking news, but Adams has been handed the ropes to try to keep Norwich in the Premier League this season. The Canaries currently sit in 17th position, five points away from the dreaded bottom three, with just five matches left in the season.

Norwich City lost its relegation six-pointer at Carrow Road on Saturday against West Bromwich Albion. The 0-1 loss will have dented Norwich’s hopes of staying up this season, but the timing of the decision by Norwich seems bizarre especially at this stage of the season. The decision by Norwich City Football Club, at this stage of the season, wreaks of desperation and panic at the club, where they lack confidence in the manager and are willing to throw the dice to hand it to a manager with no experience.

Presumably the Norwich board felt that Hughton has been unable to motivate the players to get results. In the last six Premier League matches, the only team who has had a worse run of results has been Sunderland.

What’s your reaction to the news that Hughton has been sacked and replaced by Adams? Express your opinion in the comments section below.