Chris Hughton has saluted the contribution of his assistant Colin Calderwood since being installed as Newcastle`s permanent manager.

Former Northampton and Nottingham Forest boss Calderwood, who was a player at Tottenham when Hughton was a coach at White Hart Lane, has been the perfect foil since the pair took charge of first-team affairs on a temporary basis in July.

Calderwood, like Hughton, now has a permanent deal at the club, and the Toon boss is delighted to have secured his services.

"Once I had my own deal sorted, the first thing I did was to get Colin sorted and he will continue now in the same role," Hughton told the club`s official website.

"Colin has been fantastic. He is someone I have known for a long time and someone I trust very much. He is an experienced football manager and that is a huge help. He`s also a fantastic coach and someone the players respect.

"But we`re both delighted to have this opportunity and we`re fully focussed on achieving promotion."