My Spurs Debut | Chris Hughton vs Manchester United | 29.08.1979

Chris Hughton, 64, joined us as a part-time professional in 1977 before signing professional forms two years later in June, 1979. He went on to make 398 appearances in all competitions until departing for West Ham in 1990, winning two FA Cups and the UEFA Cup along the way. He also earned 53 caps for the Republic of Ireland.

Retiring in 1992, Chris was back at the Club a year later as Under-21 manager, beginning a coaching association with us that would finally come to an end 15 years later in 2007, a total of 28 years of service to Spurs. Since then, he's been manager of Newcastle United, Birmingham City, Norwich City, Brighton, Forest and now Ghana's national team.

Chris made his Spurs debut in the first leg of a League Cup second round tie against Manchester United on 29 August, 1979, a 2-1 win at the Lane thanks to a spectacular volley from Glenn Hoddle and goal from John Pratt. However, we lost 3-1 in the second leg at Old Trafford and went out 4-3 on aggregate.

My Spurs Debut | Chris Hughton

“The reason I played was because Gordon Smith, who had played the previous matches, had got injured. The frustrating thing from Gordon's point of view - and I've talked to him about it since - was that he was only expected to be out for a couple of games but I did well on my debut and that was the start of a run that saw me play the rest of the games that season.

"I must admit, I wasn’t nervous at all. Don’t forget, my background was a little different to everyone else. Most the of the lads had gone through a football apprenticeship and the pressure that goes with it, the build-up over time. I hadn’t. I was still playing as an amateur, training two nights a week and playing for the reserves on a Saturday. I wasn’t nervous and took it very much in my stride. I didn’t have the peer pressure many of the other lads might have had. It just went from there!

"The two things I remember when I knew I was going to play was one, I was playing Manchester United and two, I was going to come up against Steve Coppell, a real favourite of mine. He was an England international, a big-name player and you have to remember this was before the likes of Sky TV came in, so the only time you would see these players was on England duty or on Match of the Day. Players weren't as instantly recognisable as they are now so the bigger players, the internationals, always stood out.

"I remember being happy with my performance. I remember the goals - Glenn's volley, who could forget that? - but not a lot else about the game. Some people can tell you from the first minute to the last, but I couldn't. I was so focused on my own performance and wanting to do well on my debut.

"I couldn't have timed it any better. It was the start of a wonderful era for the club, playing in the cup finals and being able to play with the likes of Glenn, Ossie, Ricky, Garth Crooks, Stevie Archibald, so many fantastic players. No-one knew at the time, but that game catapulted my career...

"Now, I'm enjoying my work with Ghana. My first involvement came in March last year. They'd brought in a younger Head Coach for World Cup qualification games against Nigeria and asked if I could help as technical advisor. We qualified for the World Cup, so they asked if I could work up to the World Cup, I did, and then when the Head Coach left after the World Cup, they asked if I'd take on the role, and I'm delighted to have done so. Next up, we play one more qualification game for the Africa Cup of Nations against Central African Republic in September. We're top, but it's quite tight. If we win we top the group, but we can't afford to lose. As most people know, I represented the Republic of Ireland at international level and this is a huge honour for me, especially having represented the country of my mother's birth as a player, to now represent the country of my father's birth as a Head Coach. I'm still at a number of Spurs games. I enjoy it. My kids go, my grandkids go. As soon as I get the opportunity to go again, I will do and, as always, I'll be rooting for the team to do well."