HAVING guided Newcastle United to the top of the Championship table, there is every chance of Chris Hughton being named August’s Manager of the Month.

If Mike Ashley has any sense – and on the evidence of many of his previous decisions, that’s debatable – he will hand Hughton an award of his own in the next fortnight. Namely, the Newcastle manager’s job on a permanent basis.

With the transfer window having closed without any tangible progress on the takeover front, Ashley now appears certain to remain in charge of the Magpies until January at the earliest.

With that in mind, it is time to remove one of the biggest uncertainties that has been hanging over the club since the start of the season. The remaining members of the squad know they are going to be at St James’ Park until the start of next year – isn’t it about time the club’s manager could say the same as well?

Ashley has toyed with the idea of a permanent manager already this season, approaching both David O’Leary and Joe Kinnear to discuss the possibility of them taking over on Tyneside.

At the time, that seemed logical, even if the identity of the candidates was baffling.

Hughton appeared out of his depth during his two spells in caretaker charge last season and, in pre-season at least, Newcastle’s players were queuing up to plead for the appointment of a manager.

A month or so on, and the situation has changed markedly. Far from seeming like a fish out of water, Hughton now presents himself as a convincing managerial figure.

He has handled himself superbly during an incredibly difficult period, toeing the party line sufficiently to prevent a complete implosion, but quietly nudging Ashley and Derek Llambias enough to rule out a total firesale that might have scuppered any hope of a viable promotion push.

While the rest of the Newcastle hierarchy have embarrassed both themselves and the club repeatedly, Hughton has been one of the few figures to emerge from the current mess with his dignity and reputation intact.

He has forged a close bond with his players, to the extent that senior figures in the dressing room talk openly about their desire to see him keep his position.

And most importantly of all, he has proved he has what it takes to win football matches. Despite injuries to a number of senior players, Hughton’s Newcastle have won four league games out of five, conceding just one goal in the process.

His record, like his demeanour, has been admirable, and having successfully laid the groundwork for recovery, he is surely better placed to oversee the next phase of the process than an O’Leary, Kinnear or Curbishley.

The elephant in the room, of course, is a certain Alan Shearer, and with the takeover process still officially not dead, the shadow of the former Newcastle captain will not go away.

Monday night’s victory over Leicester was played out to a chorus of Alan Shearer songs, and it was a shame his presence in the stands detracted from the extent of Hughton’s achievements in the dug-out.

The emotional pull of Shearer is obvious, but judged solely on his managerial performances at the end of last season, it is hard to make too convincing a case for jettisoning the current incumbent.

Hughton has helped shape the current squad – surely, therefore, he is also best placed to lead them for the rest of the season.

THE domestic rugby union season starts tomorrow night, and it has hardly been a good summer for the game in this country.

I’ve used this column before to draw a distinction between the way misbehaviour in football is treated in comparison to similar behaviour in rugby.

For some reason, and I sadly believe it has a lot to do with class, rugby players are able to get away with horrifically violent acts while footballers are hauled over the coals for the slightest misdemeanour.

Unfortunately, it already appears that the same is happening with cheating.

The saga involving Harlequins and the fake blood capsule is the most blatant and unpalatable example of cheating imaginable, and follows the fighting and alleged drug taking that sullied Bath’s name this summer.

Yet the rugby world has been scrambling to play down both events.

Football has its faults, but imagine the outcry if a Premier League player was guilty of similar on-field skulduggery. If rugby wants all the trappings of the professional game, it has to accept the scrutiny and expectations that go along with it.