Chris Hughton: Players have done great – so far

Nov 28 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

CHRIS Hughton has paid tribute to his squad for the way they adapted to life in the Championship – before warning that the job is far from complete.

Newcastle have battled their way to the top of the second tier on the back of some solid but unspectacular performances, the polar opposite of swashbuckling title rivals West Bromwich Albion.

Manager Hughton is unconcerned about the lack of plaudits for his Championship pacesetters, however, highlighting the demise of Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Norwich in recent seasons as evidence that bouncing back at the first time should not be taken for granted.

“I think that is because there is an expectation with Newcastle – people expect us to be where we are and do well in this division,” he said. “I think different – it was not a given (that we’d start this well). I couldn’t be more full of praise for this group of lads and how they have conducted themselves in what was very much the unknown.

“There have been big clubs in this division that haven’t fared as well as we have or started as well. I certainly don’t think it was something that was nailed on, or that we were bound to compete as well as we have done.

“More importantly, we have done well but that is ‘so far’. People will ask questions about our form – are we scoring enough goals, for example – but are we hard-nosed enough to continue it? There is such a long way to go.”

Hughton pinpointed the key characteristics that United would have to show before the season started, and came to the pragmatic conclusion that Premier League pedigree would count for little.

“I can see why it happens to big clubs when they get relegated. What you have in this division is a lot more games,” he said. “Teams in this division should not be under-estimated. They are equally as organised and fit. The difference between teams in the Championship and Premier League is that extra quality, but it is not always quality that wins you games. There are going to be some games won on attitude, desire, physical presence and running ability. It’s not always about quality.”

With the exception of the Baggies and United, who are looking to extend their unbeaten St James' Park run to nine games against Swansea today, no other team has been able to string a consistent sequence of results together this season – but Hughton believes it will be a tightly-contested division.

“It’s a league where you don’t get your own way. If I look at the games we’ve lost, probably the only one that we lost that we deserved to lose was Blackpool away,” he said.