Hughton silent over contract situation

31 October 2010 17:25
ewcastle manager Chris Hughton remained diplomatically tight-lipped on his contractual situation after seeing his side rout Sunderland 5-1.[LNB] Hughton started the week having to deal with speculation that his time at St James' Park could be drawing to a close, and received a degree of backing on Wednesday when the club released a statement confirming their intention to renegotiate his deal.[LNB]That was interpreted in some circles as the dreaded vote of confidence, but Hughton's players stated his case eloquently for him this afternoon when they tore the Black Cats apart to leapfrog them in the Premier League table.[LNB]Asked if the rousing win had added firepower to his armoury, the 51-year-old said: "My position is no different this week to what it was last week and the week before.[LNB]"I am manager of this football club and very proud to be manager of this football club, and I am endeavouring to get the best results possible, and we were able to do that today.[LNB]"My position is no different Those decisions are always down to the club, as they always have been.[LNB]"My remit at this moment is to do the best job that I can. I am incredibly proud of a group of players today who made a very, very difficult game comfortable at times for them."[LNB]Newcastle were simply too hot to handle and from the moment they forged ahead, there was only likely to be one result.[LNB]Kevin Nolan started the ball rolling with 26 minutes gone when he reacted first to Mike Williamson's knock down and sent an overhead kick into the roof of the net.[LNB]He helped himself to a second eight minutes later when the Sunderland defender went missing to allow him to control Andy Carroll's scuffed volley and slot past keeper Simon Mignolet.[LNB]Things got even better for the Magpies on the stroke of half-time when Nedum Onuoha brought down Jonas Gutierrez in the area and Shola Ameobi calmly converted the resulting penalty in front of a delirious Gallowgate End crowd.[LNB]Black Cats boss Steve Bruce had sent on record signing Asamoah Gyan five minutes before the break, but his side's hopes of launching a fightback were dashed within eight minutes of the restart when Bramble was dismissed for a rash challenge on Carroll, who tormented their defence throughout.[LNB]The game was over 20 minutes from time when Ameobi smashed home a volley after Carroll's towering header had come back off the bar, and Nolan completed his treble from close range five minutes later, with Darren Bent's last-minute strike proving scant consolation.[LNB]Hughton was serenaded from the terraces as the fans added their weight to his case.[LNB]He said: "It's always something that's nice, but it's not the most important thing for me.[LNB]"They are showing their appreciation for a team that has gone out and put in the performance they have.[LNB]"The crowd will always react to what they see on the football pitch and today, I think they very much liked what they saw on the football pitch."[LNB]For Sunderland's Geordie manager Bruce, defeat was a bitter pill to swallow, and he offered an unreserved apology to the club's fans.[LNB]Bruce said: "The mark of any team or any individual is how you respond to it.[LNB]"All I can do is apologise. When you get beaten as badly as that, here of all places, it will take a lot of recovering.[LNB]"Me, as manager, I will take full responsibility. Anything that could have gone wrong went wrong, from red cards to mistakes.[LNB]"I have been saying all week that we must handle the occasion. But from the off, we didn't and we got blown away by a far superior team on the day.[LNB]"We were playing a big derby game and we had three or four players. To win it, you need seven or eight - that's what Newcastle had and we didn't have enough and we got our backsides kicked."

Source: Team_Talk