Chris Hughton sings praises of Jack Charlton

Former Republic of Ireland manager Jack Charlton has been hailed by Chris Hughton.

Brighton boss Hughton says that playing under Charlton for Ireland helped to shape his own managerial career.

Hughton, whose unbeaten side are top of the Championship, said: “I know what people have said about Jack’s tactics.

“But I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed those days.

“It was a stage in my career when I was getting older and had perhaps started to pay more attention to coaching.

“I saw Jack as a wonderful example of a manager who, irrespective of players, knew 100% the way he wanted to play.

“When you look at the quality of players at his disposal, he had a lot of great flair players.

“Liam Brady, Ray Houghton, people like that, but he didn’t let that sway him.

“He knew what he wanted and he got those players to adapt. It was a big lesson to me,” says Hughton.

Meanwhile, former Republic o f Ireland international midfielder Lee Carsley has said he hasn’t got a clue what the future holds for him following his decision to leave Brentford at the end of the month.

Carsley ended his spell as caretaker manager after Monday’s 1-1 draw at Bolton and has opted not to return to his development coach role.

He will liaise with new manager Dean Smith for the rest of the month before severing his ties with the club.

Carsley said: “I’m not sure what the future holds. I’m still doing the England U19s with Aidy Boothroyd which I enjoy doing.

“There’s no surprises in that respect. I’m not leaving for another job. I felt it would be difficult to go back to the development role.

“I’m content with it. I was afraid a bit in being a manager. It’s fair to say I didn’t enjoy the first week after being beaten by Birmingham and Derby.

“The confidence had gone from the players. There was no belief and structure. They were unsure about their roles and responsibilities. As soon as we got that into them it helped.

“First-team management is something I’ll consider in the future. It’s definitely something where you wonder whether you could do it. I think I can do it and, at some point, I will go down that route.

“I’ve not spoken to Dean yet. I’ll be catching up with him and I think we’ll be meeting him in Birmingham on Wednesday.

I’ll be helping him fit in. I’ll be between the development squad and the first team. I’ll be making sure he’s got everything he needs.”