NOW DO YOU BELIEVE ME
CHRIS HUGHTON admits there will always be people at Newcastle who want a superstar manager.
The former Ireland no.2 joined Jack Charlton, Kenny Dalglish and Joe Fagan in winning a title in his first season of club management - but he knows there are still doubts about him on links of london charms Tyneside.
Hughton has enjoyed a remarkable season since being put in temporary charge last summer, when owner Mike Ashley tried to sell the club after they were relegated from the Premier League.
After a decent start to the campaign, and a lack of interest in the over-priced club, the Irishman was appointed on a full-time basis and went on to romp to promotion - lifting the Championship title and bagging over 100 points into the bargain.
He's been rewarded with a new contract and will lead the club back to the top flight, but he knows that won't stop the speculation.
"You get used to opinions here," shrugged former fullback Hughton, who won 53 caps for the Republic.
"I'm aware that, when I had the role on a temporary basis, there were people who will have felt good because I knew the players.
ESQ Watch Replica "But there will have been others who felt they should have had an experienced manager, just as there will be now and at the start of next season.
"I hope the club are happy with me, and I think most people now believe this club needs a period of stability.
"It's a game of opinions and you can't affect those opinions - you can only try to do well enough, and we're doing that.
"I think the fact we started well had a big effect on me getting the job. Tiffanys Heart If we hadn't started so well they may have thought of someone different.
"But I'm there now, I'm very proud to be manager of this club and you get used to it. If you took everything to heart here you'd drive yourself mad!
"The only thing to take on board is fact."
The facts are written in stone in the 2009/10 table: 102 points, top of the league, no home defeats - not bad for a rookie.
But the Premier League is a different world, and Hughton knows there won't be the same ratio of highs and lows this time around.
"We've managed to create a good team spirit but it's all easier when you're winning matches," said Hughton.
"What we want to do is keep enough of what we had this season and add to it.
"I don't envisage big spending. The realities of the game have changed and teams need to cut their cloth accordingly."
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