Players do have passion - Hughton

[Top Flight]

Newcastle interim manager Chris Hughton says the brawl in last night's friendly at Huddersfield is proof the players have passion for the club.

United's 1-0 win was marred by ugly scenes at the end of both halves, as tempers flared between rival players.

Magpies defender Habib Beye clashed with Town captain Peter Clarke at the break, leading to a 20-man melee involving players and coaching staff.

"You would rather have a game where the players cared," Hughton said.

Argentine defender Fabricio Coloccini was also involved in a scrap with Huddersfield's former Gateshead striker Lee Novak at the final whistle.

Senegal international Beye was substituted at the interval but Hughton, who will look into the incident, insists that the decision was not influenced by referee Jon Moss.

He told the Journal: "The referee didn't ask me to take Habib off - I was always going to do that.

"I will be investigating the incident today.

"But sometimes it's nice to have that bit of edge on the pitch - at times it didn't look like much of a friendly.

"That's the nature of the game. You have got players who care out there and sometimes they overstep the mark - but that's part and parcel of the game."

The Magpies, won their third consecutive pre-season game thanks to a second-half goal from Kevin Nolan.

"It was a typical pre season game that both teams wanted to win," Hughton said.

"We probably didn't play as well as we did at Darlington on Saturday but there were enough positives to take from this game."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Absolute nonsense......

The Newcastle players didn't get into a brawl because they care about their club.

They got into a brawl because a Huddersfield player managed to wind up a Newcastle player and he reacted like an immature muppet. Its that immaturity and lack of caring for their club that got Newcastle relegated.

I don't see why Hughton wants to try and protect those cry babies. Those baby newcastle players need to grow up fast otherwise they will follow Leeds United down the leagues.

Newcastle are a pathetic joke.