Hughton: We have to keep our stars

Oct 17 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

CHRIS Hughton will do his best to stress to Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley he cannot afford to let any players leave in the January transfer window.

Hughton continues to operate as a caretaker manager without any long-term assurances about his or the team’s future while Ashley’s laboured attempt to sell the club stumbles from one broken deadline to the next.

But that has not prevented the former Tottenham Hotspur defender from trying to urge the board to resist the temptation to sell anyone in the New Year, including highly-rated goalkeeper Tim Krul.

“In all honesty, I haven’t been given any reassurances about nobody leaving,” said Hughton. “If I look at the conversations I’ve had, more so with Derek (Llambias), it’d be about where we are at this moment leading into January.

“But I’ve not been made aware of any interest in any of our players at all. We know it’s going to be a tough job to keep it going, as it will be for anyone else around the areas we are, so I certainly would like to keep everyone we’ve got here.”

Hughton remains in the dark about the progress of the takeover talks and was unaffected by Alan Shearer’s comments yesterday that he would still like the manager’s job.

He added: “One thing I have been guaranteed is that when there’s something concrete, something definite to say, then of course I’ll be told.