BY TYLER HARRISON

CHRIS HUGHTON

A man of many firsts, Chris Hughton requires no introduction

for British football fans after over three decades of doing

his part to help shape the Great Game into what it is today

the most watched sport in the world. Born 11th December 1958,

Chris has been involved in professional football since he was aged

twenty and was the first mixed race player to represent the Republic

of Ireland in 1979, and has occupied many different roles since then

including coach, assistant manager and manager.

I had the opportunity to speak with Chris and found him to be an

energetic and engaging individual with a wealth of knowledge about

the game and a clear enthusiasm for the role he plays as manager of

Norwich City Football Club. This enthusiasm has always been a factor

of Chris’ character and has made him easily identifiable in a sport

known for its animated participants. Through his thirteen years of

playing for Tottenham Hotspur as a left back, to the relatively brief

spells with West Ham United and Brentford and the 53 caps he

earned while representing the Republic of Ireland national football

team he was always known for his enthusiasm and passionate support

of his teammates on and off the field.

From 1993 to 2007, Chris served as coach and then assistant

manager for Tottenham before joining Newcastle United as first

team coach in 2008. Following their relegation he became caretaker

manager and led Newcastle back to the Premier League in his first

season in charge.

During which he broke a number of records and secured a

permanent managerial position, before leaving to manage Birmingham

City for a season before joining Norwich City FC in June 2012.

Tyler Harrison: You’ve had a great playing career for Tottenham and

West Ham, is there a particular game that stands out for you?

“One immediately comes to mind, the 1981 Cup Final for

Tottenham and probably for a few reasons. The game itself went to

a replay and was won by quite a famous goal by Ricky Villa. It ended

up being a wonderful final. We drew the first game and it wasn’t the

best of performances but the manner with which we won the final was

very exciting.

The biggest reason however was because it was the first

achievement for me and the players within the game of winning

something of note.”

Tyler Harrison: Is there a particular player that you’ve played against

that stands out in your head?

“There are two ways this can be answered. One, with who

was absolutely the best player I’ve played against, and I have been

fortunate to play against some of the best and top players. But if I

was going to name names it would probably be John Robertson of

Nottingham Forest, probably one I remember having a lot of good

tussles with on the field. A wonderful player for Nottingham forest, if

we’re looking at competitions won then it would be him.

I’ve also been fortunate to play top players at not just the club

level but at international level as well. Internationally I would have

been Ruud Gullit and one particular tussle in the 1988 European

Champion, that’s the one I remember the most at international level.

But club level would be John Roberston.”

Tyler Harrison: While at Tottenham, is there a team mate you most

enjoyed playing with?

“I think that we were a very gifted team, probably the three players

that stood out the most in them days were Glen Hoddle, for obvious

reasons, he was very different to anybody else, very gifted from

a pure ability point of view. Probably as gifted as any other English

player I know. Ossie Ardiles was another one, he had the wonderful

thing of actually arriving at Tottenham after winning The World Cup

“It’s a tough industry and you have to be able to ride the highs and lows. And there is nobody that feels it more than the managers when you get defeated.”

It was around about the same

time that I decided to manage.

So it was one that materialized

slowly over the period of my

twenties, closer to twenty seven,

twenty eight. Realistically, no

other career would have been

an option. I wanted to stay in

football.”

Tyler Harrison: How do you find

Norwich as a city compared to

living in London?

“I’ve enjoyed the city so far,

the difficulty sometimes when

you’re the manager is that your

weeks are so full on that you

spend a large majority of your

time at the training ground.

But I like to get into Norwich as

often as possible, you know, to

go for a meal or enjoy the place.

I’ve enjoyed the experience

of living here. After being in

London and then a three year

stint in Newcastle and a year in

Birmingham it’s proved to be

very different to them, not nearly

as frantic as it is elsewhere but

you have everything here you

would get there. And Norwich is

a great city for supporters”

Tyler Harrison: Would you say

there’s a friendly atmosphere here?

“That’s part and parcel of the

club you can’t deny there is such

a big percentage of local support.

in Argentina. He had a wealth of

international experience and is

somebody that perhaps didn’t

have the tech ability like Glen

but was fearless and if ever there

was a thought about somebody

who had overriding confidence

in his abilities it was him. Also,

importantly we had a one of a

kind captain, Steve Perrymen.

Tyler Harrison: Was there a

particular reason that made you

want to get into managing?

“There are two ways to

keep in football. Stay in game or

manage, and I was a coach for

more than fifteen years before

I went into management. Some

players know from the start

of their careers in their early

twenties they’ll always be in the

game but that wasn’t the case for

me. It was as I approached my

late twenties that the drive to

stay in football became more and

more prominent.

I started thinking about doing

my badges and getting some

coaching experience, coaching

kids. As soon as I retired from

playing it was an opportunity to

stay in the game, after a spell at

West Ham I was able to go back

to Tottenham as part of Ossie

Ardiles coaching staff.

“You never know what the future holds and our business is such a precarious one. This is what I do and what I enjoy doing, so of course as long as you’re given the opportunity to do it you want to continue to do. It is a tough job, with a lot of pressure that comes with the role but that pressure comes from the role itself and is always there for the manager to deal with.”

That sort of thing is very important and I feel the club certainly

appreciates the support, its special, different and loyal. In other cities

you see lots of different shirts for different teams, but if you’re from

Norwich you’re a Norwich supporter and other clubs don’t really have

that. It’s the whole city’s support behind their team.”

Tyler Harrison: Touching on the future, can you see yourself staying in

management?

“I hope so. You never know what the future holds and our business

is such a precarious one. This is what I do and what I enjoy doing, so

of course as long as you’re given the opportunity to do it you want to

continue to do. It is a tough job, with a lot of pressure that comes with

the role but that pressure comes from the role itself and is always

there for the manager to deal with. Whether Norwich, Tottenham or

Scunthorpe - you have to be able to handle that. Everyone gets highs,

lows, ups and downs and the highs are high and lows are lows- but you

have to be the sort of person who enjoys it.”

Tyler Harrison: In matches you see managers getting very animated on

the touchline, how is the relationship between managers behind the

scenes?

“Oh yes, I think what you will see with managers is that they’re very

competitive when it comes to a game full stop. Irrespective of who the

opposition is. They’re competitive and you have to be competitive to

ultimately get the best out of your team and you have to know that

the opposition will be doing the same. But there is a great deal of

mutual respect as we all know

what each other is going through.

On most occasions you’ll sit with

the opposition manager after the

game and generally, yes, there

is a mutual respect between

everyone. But on a matchday

it is and always will be very

competitive.

Tyler Harrison: What does it take

to manage a football team?

It’s a tough industry and

you have to be able to ride the

highs and lows. And there is

nobody that feels it more than

the managers when you get

defeated. Winning every game

would make life easier but that

would also make it boring. You

have to have broad shoulders

and a clear strategy and the

determination to push through

with that strategy.

We also realize we are

Norwich, we haven’t got the

facilities and resources like some

of the other clubs but we’re

fortunate that we’re managing

a very well-run club, a debt free

club, a good example of how far

we’ve come in the last four, five

years and so much of that comes

down to the players and the

support from Norwich itself.”