CHRIS Hughton hopes his appointment as permanent manager at Newcastle United will herald the start of a new era at St James’s Park – even though he does not want anything to change.
As revolutions go, Hughton’s is very much of the velvet variety. He is not a ranter or a raver and had never even thought about becoming United’s full time manager until this season.
The former Tottenham defender has quietly got on with the job of trying to get Newcastle back into the top flight following relegation, and that has been enough for owner Mike Ashley to offer him the responsibility for the next 18 months.
But, while the caretaker bit has been removed from his title, Hughton is confident that will be the only thing that changes behind the scenes as the Magpies prepare to take on Sheffield United this evening.
“For me it feels like the start of a new era even though the way I want to approach it is to carry on in a business-as-usual way,” said Hughton, whose side needed an injury-time winner against Doncaster to end a run of four games without a win last weekend.
“Will I be any different on the training pitch? No. Will I be any different in the way I approach the players? No.
“The decisions and difficulties I have now will not be any different to what they were last week. The issues will not be any different. It’s just the tag that is different. It’s how people perceive it.
“At times it will feel different. Very much so. But it is something I expect and something I will get used to. Will there be more pressure that comes with the position? I think yes there will. The fact it is now a permanent role means there will be more pressure, but you have pressure here anyway when you are manager of
Newcastle United, with a group of supporters that expect us to be at the top end of the table and expect us to win games.” Nevertheless, while Hughton is keen to keep things ticking over in precisely the same way they have been since the start of the season, he acknowledges the fact he will be perceived differently by people outside of the club.
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