By all accounts it has been a rollercoaster week for Newcastle United boss Chris Hughton. After an impressive win away to West Ham, bookmakers suspended betting on Hughton been the next Premier League manager to lose his job.
The pressure was heightened after the Toon were dumped out of the Carling Cup by Arsenal , but today Hughton’s side were in stunning form as they brushed aside Sunderland to record a stunning 5-1 win over there local rivals.
A hat-trick from Kevin Nolan and as well as a brace from Shola Ameobi was easily enough to guide Newcastle to victory, but perhaps more importantly for Hughton, the win could go a long way to saving his job.
Hughton himself received the backing from the Geordie faithful during today’s game and was delighted with the crowds support. He said: “It means a lot and I’m always grateful to hear that. They are a spirited group of fans. All of the decisions on contracts will be made by the club.
“But we will enjoy today and so will the supporters. The most important thing has always been seeing a wonderful group of players doing well and wanting to do it for this football club. The win is three points against our local rivals and you can see what it means to the players. It was a wonderful team performance with some outstanding individual performances too.”
You really do have to hope that this result will go a long way to earning Hughton a new contract. While the Toon have had a very inconsistent start to life back in the Premier League, it was only to be expected given the lack of funds spent during the summer. In many ways I think Newcastle have vastly exceeded expectations with 14 points from their opening ten games.
The pressure on Hughton comes because he does not have the big name reputation as previous managers. But previous managers have all failed at Newcastle, maybe a low-profile manager like Hughton is exactly what they need in their bid to ensure Premier League safety.
