Source: Northern_Echo
Hughton refuses to discuss Taylorgate
CHRIS HUGHTON has reaffirmed his personal drive to bring Premier League football back to St James' Park by claiming he is selecting his team purely on what is best for Newcastle United.[LNB] In the last week many would have expected Hughton to take striker Andy Carroll out of his starting line-up following the alleged training ground bust-up with teammate Steven Taylor.[LNB] Instead Carroll, expected to play against Nottingham Forest tonight, was included in last Tuesday's team that overcame Doncaster Rovers, and he slotted in a second half winner.[LNB] Further details of the alleged altercation between the pair was revealed yesterday, although the reports are unlikely to change the manager's view ahead of a match that will go a long way towards sealing a top-flight return.[LNB] What I don't have to do is to go into any specifics, said Hughton, still in no mood to confirm a fight took place between two of his players.[LNB] My job is to manage this football club and this group of lads. Around that will always come decisions.[LNB] I have to make decisions every week on whichever team I pick sometimes you get things right, sometimes you get things wrong and I will continue to make decisions that I believe are right.[LNB] Around that there are issues of fitness, form, individuals, players coming back those are the things that I take into account.[LNB] On-the-field Carroll has become an automatic pick for Hughton in recent months, scoring 16 goals this season to become the club's leading goalscorer.[LNB] From the outside it would seem team spirit should have been affected by the events at the club's Benton training complex last Sunday morning, but Hughton claims that has not been the case.[LNB] What we've had is a very good team spirit, he said.[LNB] That's what we have had all season. It has enabled us to be in the position that we're in.[LNB] I think it's part and parcel of football life (that we talk about non-football things).[LNB] What we have to do is make sure we're focused enough on football matches and that's what we have been.[LNB] We've got a crowd here with high expectations they expect us to get promotion.[LNB] At football clubs there will always be issues and it's about working around the issues and on the important thing winning enough games.[LNB] When Hughton was asked if both Taylor and Carroll would be still at Newcastle next season he was sharp and to the point. Absolutely, yes, he said.[LNB] He also insisted that he sees no reason at this moment[LNB] why he would not be the manager of Newcastle in the Premier League next season, despite unsubstantiated suggestions that owner Mike Ashley would opt for a change during the summer.[LNB] The last seven days have also reminded Newcastle's players that they are still employed by a club which attracts nationwide headlines if things do not go to plan particularly the new-boys.[LNB] Mike Williamson, a January signing from Portsmouth that expects to return after a hand injury tonight, has quickly realised that life at Newcastle is a little different to Watford or Fratton Park.[LNB] The first thing you realise is, when you just walk around the city, how many shirts you see and the level of passion towards the club from the people who live up here, said Williamson.[LNB] I haven't been up here that long but you get that feeling from everyone you speak to.[LNB] The stadium itself is on another level.[LNB] In general anything that goes on at this club can be blown out of proportion, good and bad things I suppose.[LNB] But the boys know they have to keep on a level pegging all the way through and don't get too high when things are going well and don't get too low when you are up against it, on and off the pitch.[LNB] The down-to-earth defender knows all about the number of players that have struggled to adapt to the intense life on Tyneside, but he is adamant he can succeed, knowing a victory tonight could see the Magpies promoted this weekend.[LNB] Through my years of playing football and seeing Newcastle achieve what they have achieved over the years, I have always regarded Newcastle in the top four or five in the country, he said.[LNB] I have always admired from afar, but when you come here you get the true impact of the size of the club and just what it means to all of the general public around it.[LNB] I can see why this club has proved too daunting for some players who have joined.[LNB] That it's down to a player's character more than anything else.[LNB] When things aren't going your way you have to be mentally strong and get through.[LNB] Newcastle: Harper; Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Enrique; Routledge, Guthrie, Nolan, Gutierrez; Lovenkrands, Carroll.[LNB]
