Chris Hughton is excited taking the Brighton job.

Hughton has returned to management at the AMEX Stadium, eight months after he was sacked by Norwich City.

The 56-year-old has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal to succeed Sami Hyypia, who has left him a squad firmly embroiled in a relegation battle.

"I want to get this club back challenging in the top six again," said Hughton.

"With the infrastructure and everything that is in place here, that has to be the aim.

"But that is further down the line. If I look at our position in the league, first we have to try and get some stability in the results, move us into a more comfortable position and then progress from there.

"As soon as I knew there was an opportunity to come here it was one that very much excited me. The infrastructure and where this club wants to be in the future was an important factor. You only have to look at the brand new training facility and stadium that's here to see the club's ambition.

"Over the past few years they have fared very well in the division and been very close to realising their ambitions in the last couple of seasons. For whatever reason this season has not gone so well, but one of the key factors in me deciding to join the club was the ambition and the calibre of staff here already.

"The initial challenge is obvious, we need to improve our league position. But we are working to get this club back challenging at the top end of the division.

"Hopefully that won't take too long as I know the squad quite well and I have come across some of the players over the previous few seasons. I'm also familiar with the structure and some of the staff here at the club, so I hope that it is not going to take me too long to settle in."