Former Newcastle United favourite lands international management role

Former Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton has officially been named as new head coach of Ghana.

The 64-year-old became a popular figure at St James Park after helping the Magpies recover from relegation from the Premier League in 2009 before bouncing back to the top flight at the first attempt 12 months later.

With a side containing the likes of Kevin Nolan, Andy Carroll and Fabricio Coloccini, Hughton oversaw big wins over the likes of Aston Villa and Sunderland upon United’s return to the Premier League and was in charge of a 1-0 win against Arsenal.

However, he parted company with the Magpies in the aftermath of a 3-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion in December 2010, a result that left United sat in eleventh place in the Premier League table.

Hughton went on to manage Birmingham City, Norwich City, Brighton and Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest over the last decade and always received a warm reception whenever he brought his side to St James Park.

The former Republic of Ireland international has been a ‘technical advisor’ to the Ghana FA over the last year and will now step into the role of head coach after Otto Addo left the position following last year’s World Cup Finals in Qatar.

A statement released on the Ghana FA website read: “The Ghana Football Association has the pleasure to appoint Chris Hughton as Head Coach of the Black Stars following extensive deliberations between the two parties.

“The appointment is in line with the vision of the GFA to continue with the project of building a formidable squad that started with Otto Addo in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament.

“Mr. Hughton has been the Technical Advisor of the Black Stars for the past twelve months. The GFA has also decided to maintain Assistant Coaches George Boateng and Mas-Ud Didi Dramani. The three coaches were part of the technical team for the World Cup in Qatar. Details about the duration of the contract and terms of engagement would be announced in due course.”

Hughton’s first game in charge will be an African Cup of Nations qualifier against Angola next month.