Forest axe will put Hughton at the centre of the Ireland question

Nottingham Forest manager Chris Hughton during the Sky Bet Championship match at Ewood Park, Blackburn.

Chris Hughton is a couple of years too late to assist the FAI on their governance journey but inevitably he’ll be part of a conversation whenever the managerial vacancy arises.

Hughton chose, during his sabbatical from the dugout in 2014, between jobs at Norwich City and Brighton and Hove Albion, to enrol onto the English FA’s ‘On The Board’ programme.

The 10-month course opened the eyes of former players such as Hughton, Marcus Gayle, the late Ugo Ehiogu and Rachel Yankey to the world of corporate governance.

“The course is about getting more diversity in the boardroom – and learning about boardroom structures and how they’re run,” he told The Guardian.

“It was very interesting but tough. I have a thirst for knowledge because you’re always trying to have the best relationship with the directors. I also won’t always be a manager. It might open up another future pathway.” 

The former Ireland defender may be pondering that alternative career after his latest defeat to boardroom powers.

His long goodbye from Nottingham Forest was confirmed on Thursday morning; Hughton the latest of 14 permanent managers to depart the Championship club in 12 years.

Unlike his previous exits, he had scant justification to defend his corner. Forest are bottom of the table with one point from their opening seven games, winless in 13 when factoring in last season’s anti-climax.

The only sympathy afforded is that Hughton is just the latest victim of a club lacking an identity and budget to try to regain a sinew of its former glories. It was the first time he’d lost a job with his team in the relegation zone.

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley axed him in December 2010, with the side he guided from the Championship into the top flight sitting 11th in the Premier League. Norwich felt it best in 2014 to make a change despite them being five points clear of the drop zone with five games left.

The sense of misplaced expectations was at its most acute at Brighton, whose owner Tony Bloom ended Hughton’s five-and-a-half-year spell after he’d kept them in the Premier League for the second season running. Survival wasn’t sufficient for the manager to survive.

Hughton’s reputation kept him in the frame for jobs and the regret he may harbour is not finalising a deal to become West Bromwich Albion boss within weeks of his Brighton exit.

Forest eventually came calling and, like Martin O’Neill before him, Hughton saw enough in the combination of tradition and potential to take on the project. A policy of reducing the average age of the squad, something he achieved at Brighton while still relying on the odd veteran such as Glenn Murray, was evident but recruitment was an issue. Ten new signings arrived before the recent transfer window closed, replacing a batch of high-earners like Harry Arter, yet few were proven.

In the brutal world of the Championship, time to blood recruits, including some just of quarantine, is seldom in abundance.

For a manager who has spent most of the past 12 years employed, a period of downtime may be embraced by the 62-year-old.

However, 53-times capped Hughton has never hidden his desire to lead Ireland at the appropriate time and a convergence of factors could hasten that decision.

The FAI will debate Stephen Kenny’s continuance in the post once the World Cup qualifiers end in November, or earlier if there’s another blunder in Baku. With second place out of reach, Ireland’s sole task in their remaining trio of dead rubbers is to leapfrog Luxembourg into third.

Were the association to decide the incumbent isn’t capable of delivering on his grand vision of Euro 2024 qualification, then Hughton features among a shortlist of candidates. 

It is understood one of the drivers of Kenny demanding the senior post when accepting the U21 vacancy from John Delaney in 2018 was the candidature of Hughton, then in his pomp at Brighton and beyond the FAI's range.

There is now a lack of an outstanding successor, merely a handful of maybes.

Similar to Hughton, Neil Lennon developed a track record at Celtic, only to be tainted by his struggles in his second stint at Paradise. Robbie Keane? Too inexperienced. Roy? Too controversial. Big Sam? Where did that proposition even get floated?

All the above are available but possess flaws, as does Kenny, and that may work in his favour when the board comes around to debating the merits of embarking on another managerial search.

Be that this year, next or further afar, Hughton has adequate knowledge of dressing rooms and boardrooms to be aware that his latest blip won't prevent his name featuring in the discussion.