Chris Hughton coach of Nigeria international. Leon Balogun at premier league side, Brighton has been sacked one day after the conclusion of the Premier League season.
Hughton who kept the club from been relegated paid the price after winning just three of the final 23 Premier League games in the second half of the season.
Hughton, it would be recalled recruited Balogun last summer from German Bundesliga side Mainz 05 but failed to give the Nigerian the required playing time.
But despite his four-and-a-half-year reign standing as the seventh-longest managerial spell across the Premier league and English Football League, Hughton has been immediately sacked following the conclusion of the 2018/19 season.
Hughton’s last game in charge of the club saw Brighton lose 4-1 to Manchester City, sparking title celebrations for the visiting side at the Amex Stadium
Club chairman Tony Bloom confirmed Hughton’s sack in a statement on Monday morning.
“Chris has done an excellent job over the past four and a half years,” said Bloom. “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.”
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Hughton is joined in being dismissed by his assistant manager Paul Trollope and first-team coach Paul Nevin, with the club confirming that they are in the process of hiring a successor.