Chris Hughton says he found his dismissal by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley as "bizarre".

Ashley later admitted he was 'very unfair' and did not 'give him enough time' and while Hughton is 'grateful' for those comments, he insists he only ever wants to look back on his time on Tyneside with 'fondness'.

"I think it was bizarre at the time. Generally, I haven't spoken too much about how I left but I think probably for me there was so much uncertainty at the club when I look at the time," he told ChronicleLive.

"Even when we were back in the Premier League, and things were going well, there was still so much uncertainty about the ownership of the club that when I went, what I was very conscious of was to keep most of my thoughts private but just to be very proud of the job that my staff and I had done.

"I had good staff around me. Probably, from that moment, it was always for me about looking forward, being very proud, but I can tell you that the day I lost my job, my overriding feeling was one of pride to have managed such a great club."