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Hughton looks for boost from cup

SoccerNews in English Premier League 6 Jan 2013

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Norwich manager Chris Hughton hopes the 3-0 win over Peterborough in the FA Cup third round will be a turning point.

Hughton’s team face struggling Newcastle at Carrow Road on Saturday and the 54-year-old hopes to get back on track after their run of four consecutive defeats.

The former Newcastle manager believes that strong form in cup competitions can breed confidence in the squad.

“Although they’ve been very tight games, we were on the back of four defeats so, irrespective of what the next game was, it’s one you want to win,” he told reporters.

“We want to stay in the cup for as long as possible and I think you can gain confidence when you are able to use the squad and see good attitudes.”

Hughton made no less than eight changes for their FA Cup fixture against the Championship side as only Russell Martin, Ryan Bennett and Robert Snodgrass remained from the starting XI who lost to West Ham.

Simeon Jackson and Elliott Bennett were paired in attack in the absence of the likes of Grant Holt and Steve Morison and made good impressions by both getting on the scoresheet.

“Considering both of them (Jackson and Elliott Bennett) haven’t played as much football as they would like, I thought they were good right through the 90 minutes,” Hughton said.

“They were a constant threat and gave us really good options up front.

“We’ve had a fairly settled side but that’s why the players train like they do and that’s why you want the competition.

“When you look at players like (Marc) Tierney and (David) Fox, Elliott Bennett and Simeon, that haven’t had the football, you wouldn’t have seen that because I thought they carried themselves very well, looked very fit and had a lot of energy in their game.”

Hughton also admitted that he would consider fielding some of the same players in the next round of the draw given their impressive performances.

“Of course the result is what you want but it’s the attitude and the performance that pleased me the most,” he said.

“I think whatever the game was, I would have played the same team. It’s about timing and we’ve also got a team that have played a lot of games together.

“Those players deserved to play, and they’ve put themselves very much in the frame for the next round.”

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