Norwich City: We had to sack Chris Hughton - chief executive
Last updated on .From the section Football
Norwich City chief executive David McNally said the club had "no choice" but to sack manager Chris Hughton.
The Canaries dismissed Hughton and replaced him with youth coach Neil Adams following Saturday's 1-0 defeat by West Brom at Carrow Road.
"We felt we were left with no choice. Recent results and performances have been disappointing," said McNally.
Norwich are in 17th place in the Premier League - five points clear of Fulham in the relegation zone.
The two sides meet at Craven Cottage on Saturday but new manager Adams, who spent six seasons as a player with the Canaries, insists the club will stay up.
"Am I confident I can get the result to keep us in this division? Absolutely," he said.
"I was approached on Sunday and it took two seconds to make the decision. Everyone knows what this club means to me. I'm looking forward to doing the job with relish.
"When you work as a coach you want to go to the very top. It is privilege. It's my club. I've been here for 20 years."
Following the game against Fulham, Norwich face a tough run-in with games against Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Adams added: "It's not daunting. Obviously I know the run-in and the four games but we've got a huge game on Saturday and I'm not looking beyond that.
"I don't think it is a must-win. But if we win on Saturday it helps our cause.
"But there are four other games and we can win against the bigger teams."
Former Newcastle and Birmingham boss Hughton, 55, guided the Canaries to 11th in the Premier League last season.
But they have lost four of their last six league games and scored just 26 goals all season, despite spending heavily on strikers Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Gary Hooper in the summer.
Sections of home fans chanted "we want Hughton out" during the West Brom defeat but Norwich captain Russell Martin said the players must take some of the blame for the results that led to his departure.
"Unfortunately, it is the nature of the game we are in. The club have made the decision and we have to move on," he said.
"It hasn't worked out and we take a big part of the responsibility as well because we haven't performed consistently.
"For me, there is no crisis as we are five points above the relegation zone.
"We didn't stop playing for him. The boys gave everything for him."
