Birmingham appoint Hughton

Birmingham City have announced the appointment of former Newcastle United boss Chris Hughton as the club’s new manager.

A statement on the Birmingham website said Hughton agreed to terms with the club on Wednesday with the 52-year-old to begin work immediately.

“Acting chairman Peter Pannu felt that Hughton was the perfect candidate to take charge at St Andrew’s and he is now looking forward to sharing the new man’s ambition,” the statement read.

“Pannu was particularly impressed by Hughton’s vision and footballing theories of garnering youth and playing attractive and effective football.”

Hughton began his coaching career at Tottenham Hotspur, with stints as an assistant manager and caretaker coach at the club between 1993 and 2007, before moving to become part of Kevin Keegan’s backroom staff at Newcastle in 2008.

He became Newcastle manager in October 2009 and despite overseeing their promotion back to the English Premier League and guiding them to a mid-table position in the top flight early last season, he was sacked in December.

London-born Hughton also won 53 caps for the Republic of Ireland and spent time as an assistant manager of his national side under Brian Kerr between 2003 and 2005.