Newcastle United unceremoniously shoved Hughton aside last season, but he may be returning to St James Park with Birmingham City very soon.
If Chris Hughton is successful in achieving promotion to the Premier League with Birmingham, many will argue it a greater achievement than doing so with Newcastle.
He has had no end of issues to deal with in the Midlands, dealing with players desperate to leave the club, a rough patchwork of remaining players, and the distraction of Europa League football- an enjoyable yet draining venture for the side.
With two games to go in the Championship, Birmingham sit on 72 points, in fourth position. There is no chance of them achieving an automatic promotion spot, but their involvement in the play-offs looks to be more or less guaranteed.
Now the play-offs, as we all know from watching them in the past, are very much a lottery, and are often won by form teams rather than the highest placed sides.
Birmingham are very much in form, losing just one in their last 10, and losing just one home game all season, although they have stuttered of late with three draws. Had the start of the season not been so difficult to deal with, there is every chance Hughton’s men would be challenging for an automatic spot right now.
Simply to be in with a shot at promotion is a great achievement- in the play-offs they could meet West Ham, Blackpool or Cardiff, with Middlesborough and Hull in seventh and eighth four and five points off the pace.
Should Hughton be successful, his reputation will climb higher than ever, although regardless of what happens this season he has salvaged a huge amount of pride already.
Surely his aim, upon possible promotion, would be to right a few wrongs against a flying Newcastle United side.
Hughton is still well-respected by Newcastle fans, he picked the club up in their hour of need when nobody else dared, and set them onto the path they are now on, even though Mike Ashley dramatically changed it’s direction by sacking him 18 months ago.
Many of the mainstays of Hughton’s Newcastle side, Nolan, Barton, Enrique, Carroll, have all been moved on, and new fresh faces brought in. It has proved the right move, with Newcastle competing for Champions League football, but it also means that the former manager’s role is quickly being airbrushed away.
There is no doubt that if Hughton returns to St James’ – and encounters it’s new name for the first time- he will be cheered and applauded by the grateful Toon faithful.
Despite the incomings and outgoings, there are players remaining who played under Hughton- Coloccini, Gutierrez, Ameobi, Krul- who was handed his league debut, all who owe him a great amount of debt for the way he helped their careers.
He too will not want to bad mouth the club that gave him such a tremendous opportunity, but for sure he would love to get one over on the man who sacked him, and the inspiration of such an opportunity will only drive him onto make sure Birmingham give the play-offs their best shot.
image: © mickyb59
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