Brighton have appointed Chris Hughton as first-team manager on a three-and-a-half-year contract.

The former Newcastle, Birmingham and Norwich manager replaces Sami Hyypia who resigned before Christmas after just six months in charge.

The one-time Liverpool and Finland defender was appointed in June on a three-year deal but won just six out of 26 games in charge.

Brighton lie just one place above the relegation zone in the Championship and the 56-year-old Hughton will take charge with immediate effect, his first game being Saturday’s FA Cup tie away to Brentford.

The chairman Tony Bloom told the club website: “Chris has an excellent record in coaching and management. He’s hugely respected, both nationally and internationally, and he has great contacts within the game.

“He is someone who has a real wealth of experience in the top two divisions, from nearly 15 years at Spurs as a coach, assistant and interim manager, through to his more recent work in the Premier League and Championship.

“Chris is also a manager who has a track record for developing talent at all levels from academy upwards and will embrace the work we’ve been doing at the club in this area in recent seasons.

“Importantly, we also felt Chris is someone who can improve our immediate situation, while also having the management credentials and skills to plan our long-term future and help us to get back to progressing in the way we have in previous seasons.”

Hughton has been out of work since being relieved of his duties by Norwich in April with the club 17th in the Premier League.

He does, however, have Championship pedigree after leading Newcastle to the title in 2009-10 and Birmingham to the play-offs two seasons later.

He takes over from the caretaker manager Nathan Jones who has helped revive the club with four points from two games.

“I’m thrilled to be back in management and Brighton & Hove Albion is a fantastic club, with a first-class infrastructure both in footballing and business terms,” Hughton said.

“We’ve got one very obvious initial challenge and I am aiming to hit the ground running, but I am confident with the resources at the club we can succeed in retaining our status in the Championship.

“Once that is achieved we can work towards getting the club back challenging at the top end of the division.”

(Guardian service)