Campbell: Hughton axe will ´hit the players hard´

Newcastle United defender Sol Campbell has slammed the sacking of manager Chris Hughton and predicted the news will anger his team-mates.

Hughton was sensationally axed on Monday, one day after leading the Magpies to a 3-1 loss at West Bromwich Albion in the English Premier League. He has been temporarily replaced by former England star Peter Beardsley.

The 51-year-old, who led the club to promotion from the Championship last term, was removed by a Newcastle board determined to find someone with ‘more managerial experience’ to guide the club’s top-flight campaign.

But Campbell, who made his 500th Premier League appearance on Sunday, has blasted the decision as unnecessary.

“Chris is such a lovely guy. Top man. This will hit the players hard,” Campbell told Soccernet.

“The players admired him, and liked him, and won’t be happy now he’s gone like this.”

“You have got to ask yourself why this has happened because it makes no sense. Here is a guy who has done an unbelievable job.”

“He got the club back into the Premier league and any manager would have been rewarded for that with a new contract – but Chris wasn’t.”

“The players are sure to be asking themselves, ‘What the hell is going on?’, that is only natural.”

“We all had a good relationship with the players, and when we left training this morning none of the players had a clue this was coming.”

“But word started to spread that the bookies had stopped taking bets and the players started texting each other with the news.”

“Yes, it has come as a shock, and it will affect the dressing room there is no doubt about that.”

Newcastle are 11th on the league table with 19 points; four adrift of Bolton Wanderers in sixth place.

The club has confirmed that reserve-team manager Beardley will take temporary charge of the first team while a permanent replacement is sought.