Hughton will bounce back from ‘crazy’ sacking
“It is absolute panic but then they’ve been panicking for a good while,” says Kerr who, as Republic of Ireland manager had former international Hughton as his assistant.
“A couple of months ago, the club’s chief executive David McNally said if they were relegated it would be worse than dying and they seemed to be lining Chris up for the sack even then. But now it’s sheer panic because I fail to see the logic of putting the youth team fella in. Not alone have they got rid of Chris, they’ve got rid of his assistants Colin Calderwood and Paul Trollope and replaced them with the youth team manager for what is now the five most crucial games of the season.
“The thing is they probably only need a maximum of four points although if they don’t get them on Saturday [against Fulham] then they really are in trouble, and you’ve got a guy in place who doesn’t have any experience of managing against those teams or knows the teams the way Chris and his staff would. I know Chris and his energy and I know Colin Calderwood a bit as well and they would have been putting in massive hours. So I do think this is crazy stuff.”
Norwich supporters, who vented their spleen after Saturday’s defeat to West Brom, appear to be broadly backing the removal of Hughton but Kerr reckons that under-performing players have to take the lion’s share of the responsibility for Norwich’s troubles this season.
“I don’t know why Chris had become unpopular with the supporters,” he says. “It’s hard to imagine that Chris had annoyed anyone. I think what happened is that the expectations had become unrealistic because they spent more money on players than Norwich normally do at the start of the season.
“And because he also got them to 11th last year I think the expectation was that they would be a top 10 team this year. I think there was also always a bit of negativity towards Chris because Paul Lambert was so popular but I think, really, the fact the players they signed didn’t do their stuff that’s what really killed them in many ways.”
Knowing Hughton as well as he does, Kerr reckons the 55-year-old will bounce back, his reputation as one of the game’s nice guys perhaps deflecting attention somewhat from the resilience of his character.
“I think he’s a very pragmatic fella,” Kerr observes. “I used to be amazed at the number of managers Spurs went through but Chris always seemed to be there. And I think that’s because he was so respected in the club and seen as Spurs through and through. His personal attributes as well as his football brain and his commitment — those values are very strong in Chris.
“Nobody in the game will say anything bad about him.
“But I would also think that, when the time is right, he’ll be ready to go again. What else do you do if that’s been your life? As player and then as a coach, Chris has been at it since he was 18. He’s someone who would have good relations with loads of people in the game, and people like working with him because he’s such a decent, honourable fella.”
At the official unveiling at Carrow Road of new manager Adams yesterday, chief executive David McNally insisted that “disappointing” recent results and performances had left the club with “no choice”.
Norwich captain Russell Martin said: “We didn’t stop playing for him, the boys gave everything for him.”
Adams, for his part, said he was “absolutely confident” of keeping the Canaries in the Premier League.
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