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Chris Hughton Sacked by Brighton After Dismal End to Premier League Season

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Brighton have announced the sacking of manager Chris Hughton after four and a half years in charge.

Hughton joined the club in 2014, earning them their first ever promotion to the Premier League in 2017, and their first season in the top flight since 1983. However, though the 60-year-old successfully guided his side away from relegation this season, they have amassed just three wins from their last 23 league games, and the club decided a new era should begin.

In an official ​statement, the club revealed: "Brighton & Hove Albion have confirmed that Chris Hughton has left the club with immediate effect. Hughton’s assistant Paul Trollope and first-team coach Paul Nevin have also left."

Upon the announcement, ​Seagulls chairman Tony Bloom declared: “Chris has done an excellent job over the past four and a half years. First stabilising our club, reaching the play-offs in his first full season, securing our first ever promotion to the Premier League, and retaining our status in two successive seasons.

“Undoubtedly, this has been one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make as chairman of Brighton & Hove Albion, but ultimately one I have made due to how we struggled in the second half of the season.

“Our run of 3 wins from 23 ​Premier League matches put our status at significant risk. It is with that in mind, and the performances during that period, that I now feel it’s the right time for a change.

“Chris will always be very fondly remembered by Albion staff and fans as one of our club’s finest and most-respected managers. I would like to wish Chris, Paul and Paul – who have all worked extremely hard throughout their time here – every success for the future, and thank them on behalf of everyone at the club.

“They will always be welcome at the Amex, and will be remembered here with great affection.”

The statement also confirmed that 'the process to find Chris’s successor is underway, and that there will be no further comment at this stage'.