Chris Hughton appointed as new Norwich City manager

 

Norwich City have appointed Birmingham City boss Chris Hughton as their new manager, on a three-year contract.

Former Newcastle boss Hughton, 53, had been in charge of Blues since June 2011 and replaces Paul Lambert.

He led Birmingham to the Championship play-off semi-finals in 2011-12, where they lost to Blackpool.

"It's a good feeling, something I've been very excited about, it's been done very speedily which I'm absolutely delighted with," said Hughton.

Hughton's managerial record

  • Newcastle - 70 games, 39 wins, 17 draws and 14 defeats
  • Birmingham - 62 games, 26 wins, 21 draws and 15 defeats

"It was difficult to leave Birmingham because I had a good year there.

"The supporters were excellent with me. I'm very grateful to them for giving me an opportunity to speak to Norwich. As soon as that call came in it was something that very much excited me. I will forever be grateful to Birmingham."

He will be joined at Carrow Road by assistant manager Colin Calderwood, first-team coach Paul Trollope and chief scout Ewan Chester, who were all with him at Birmingham.

The Canaries have been without a manager since Lambert left the club and was named Aston Villa boss on 2 June.

After the Scot took the club to two successive promotions Hughton knows he has a "hard act to follow".

"The job Paul has done here is a wonderful achievement to rise from League One to the Premier League. It's a hard act to follow but it's a challenge. It's about making progress and with every new manager and player comes a new challenge.

"With Paul over the last three years, it has enabled this club to be where we are now and it's about making progress. I've been very impressed with where the club is and how they want to move forward."

When asked about potential signings and money to spend, Hughton added: "We have had conversations. The bigger conversations will start now about how we can move forward.

"There will be a budget to work to about bringing players in. But there's a squad of players here who have fared very well and it's about getting to know them as well."

There has been plenty of speculation surrounding the future of Canaries striker Grant Holt, who put in a transfer request before Lambert left the club.

"I can understand the speculation and of course I've listened to it," added Hughton.

"He's a quality player, there's no doubt about that, to score the goals he has done, I don't think there would be any manager who wouldn't want to keep a player of that quality.

Birmingham tweeted:  "The club would like to thank Chris Hughton and his team for their efforts over the last 12 months. The search for his successor has begun."