Canaries set to unveil Hughton

Norwich have called a press conference for 2.30pm on Thursday afternoon where it is expected Chris Hughton will be unveiled as their new manager.

The Canaries confirmed on Wednesday they had been granted permission by Hughton's current employers Birmingham to speak to the 53-year-old with a view to him assuming the vacant manager's position.

The Norfolk club, who finished 12th in the Barclays Premier League last season, are without a manager after Paul Lambert left to join Aston Villa.

Although there has been no official confirmation Hughton will be the Canaries' new manager, Press Association Sport understands that to be the case.

Norwich see Hughton as the man to take the reins from Lambert and continue their remarkable rise up the football ladder.

Lambert guided the Norfolk outfit to back-to-back promotions to take them from npower League One to the Barclays Premier League, where he clinched a superb 12th-placed finish last term.

But that impressive progress alerted a host of admirers, including Villa, and despite Norwich rejecting Lambert's resignation last Thursday, an agreement was reached on Saturday for the Scot to make the switch.

Hughton guided Birmingham to fourth in the npower Championship last term but his team were knocked out of the play-offs by Blackpool, who went on to lose to West Ham in the final.

The Blues appointed the former Tottenham coach after Alex McLeish controversially moved to the club's midlands rivals Aston Villa last summer.

Previously, Hughton led Newcastle to the Championship title in 2010 before harshly losing his job in December of that year with the north-east outfit 11th in the top flight.