Hughton praising ‘magnificent’ Newcastle fans

Nov 28 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

“I think the thing you realise when you live here is they are very passionate about the team and they are delighted to have a winning team to cheer – even if it is in a division that no one wants to be in.

"I’ve had some very nice comments and I’m very appreciative of that. But I’m realistic enough to know it’s about where we are in the league. Any manager that has got the team winning games will be alright.

“The club belongs to the fans. I know I’m just a small part of it.

“I think what the supporters want is to see a team that’s trying and a team that’s winning. That’s what they’ve got – even if it is in a division that they don’t want to be in.

“I think they have recognised that – whatever else is going on – the only way the team will get back to where we all want them to be is with their support.

“They have been magnificent and we know that will continue.” The modest Hughton employs a consensual style of management that has helped to unite a squad left shell-shocked by the trauma of relegation. Again, he feels his players should take a huge slice of the credit for the way they have knuckled down and approached the challenge of the Championship in a positive frame of mind after the problems of the summer.

It is part of the reason why he is confident that none of his players will leave in January, with team spirit and togetherness a key factor in this squad. “They made a commitment to get out of this division,” he said.

“The start we’ve had says a lot about the character of the players who are still here. There came a stage in pre-season, early in the summer before the deadline, where there would have been players who did not know whether they would be with us or not during the season.

“Once it was determined that they were going to be here they had a decision to make: Do they want to just be here or do they want to be here with a purpose? Thankfully for us we’ve had enough of the latter to help us make our good start.”