Newcastle United caretaker boss Chris Hughton is surprised to see former club Tottenham bottom of the table.

Ahead of tonight's Carling Cup tie, Hughton said: "There are still a lot of players there from when I was there.

"They have also purchased some quality players. I am surprised they are bottom but when you lose players like Berbatov and Keane, it is always hard and it does take time. They haven't started well but they will make progress.

"I don't think that anybody expect us and Tottenham to be at the bottom. But the cup game is a big one for us both. It would be a massive lift for either club to get through.

"And our players have been looking forward to the tie."