Hughton gutted by Newcastle axe

Newcastle captain Kevin Nolan has revealed Chris Hughton's final words to them all after his sudden and unexpected departure from the role.

There has been widespread attention regarding the circumstances of Hughton's departure, with many of his players reportedly disappointed that the club have decided to remove him from the role.

Kevin Nolan spoke of Hughton's departure: "Chris was gutted about what had happened. You could see that.

"But it said so much about him that, even though he was obviously disappointed to be going, he was still telling me and Joey that we had to make sure we had a good season.

"There was such a dignity about the way he left, which is how he conducted himself while he was the manager.

"We have not had the greatest run recently. But we are half-way up the table and he was very confident we would still do well and spoke about how he believed in us.

"He said goodbye to all the staff at the ground and plans to come back and see the rest of the players to wish them well."