Chris Hughton signs new Brighton contract
Chris Hughton has signed a new contract with Brighton and Hove Albion, taking him through until the summer of 2021 after guiding the club to Premier League safety in our first top flight campaign in 34 years.
The Albion have moved quickly to tie down a man who’s stock continues to rise and who will surely be attracting the interests of bigger clubs not just for his managerial ability, but for the fact that unlike so many of the other bosses in the Premier League, he isn’t a complete twat either.
If he sees out his new deal, then Hughton will have been in charge of the Albion for six and a half years, making him the clubs longest serving manager since Billy Lane managed the club for a decade in the 1950s. Only Lane and the legendary Charlie Webb with his 28 year reign have managed the club for longer.
Hughton replaced Sami Hyypia in December 2014 with the club staring League One in the face. He steadied the ship although it wasn’t exactly encouraging as the Albion limped to survival, going six games without scoring a goal at the end of the campaign as the ineptitude of Blackpool, Wigan Athletic and Millllllllll had more to do with us staying up than anything else.
The following season was remarkable though, Brighton missing out on automatic promotion to the top flight by just two goals before falling in the play offs and while most sides might have suffered a hangover from that near miss the following season, Hughton rallied the troops to secure automatic promotion with three games to spare.
That form has been continued in this campaign with safety assured by seven points in the end although there is plenty of work to do, particularly away from home with only two wins and 10 goals scored on the road this season.
Already one of the most popular managers in Albion history, Hughton now has the chance to become the greatest with an extension to his contract that protects both him should Tony Bloom lose his mind and sack him and us for when a bigger club wakes up and realises he deserves a shot at the top six.
