It's inevitable at this time of year that the green-eyed monster comes out in any football fan.

The sight of 30,000 Brighton fans partying their way to the Premier League hurt if you were a Norwich City fan.

The fact many had just watched their side win at Preston did little to temper the jealousy. Throw in the fact Brighton did it under a manager who all but took Norwich down from the Premier League and it was a little difficult to stomach.

Chris Hughton can do no wrong in the eyes of Brighton fans after taking the Seagulls into the top tier of English football for the first time since 1979.

But mention his name to Norwich fans and a wince normally follows. After succeeding Paul Lambert he kept Norwich in the Premier League for a season.

However, many fans saw his style as negative and, after the fearless approach under Lambert, it was galling to see City hammered on the road regularly.

There were calls for the City board to act throughout much of a torrid 2013/14 season. However, they left it until the start of April to replace Hughton with Neil Adams, who inevitably took City down into the Championship.

It split fans at the time – some thought Hughton should at least have finished the season before taking stock in the summer whilst others thought the decision had been left far too late.

What isn't in doubt is that Hughton has proved himself to be a good manager. With two Championship promotions on his CV his managerial capabilities deserve respect.

He is yet to fully convince he can sustain a degree of success in the Premier League but he will get the chance with Brighton next season.

Norwich won't, and you can forgive their fans for feeling a little envious of that.