CHRIS HUGHTON last night expressed sympathy with the Newcastle fans who have reacted angrily to the decision to rename St James’ Park, but the Magpies manager urged those planning to protest ahead of tomorrow’s Championship home game with Peterborough not to allow their actions to disrupt the team.

A series of demonstrations are expected to take place, with a number of supporters planning to congregate outside the Milburn Stand from 1.30pm onwards to express their outrage at Mike Ashley’s decision to re-brand Newcastle’s stadium as sportsdirect.

com @ St James’ Park.

Hughton accepts that if supporters are prepared to pay to watch the Magpies, they are entitled to air their views, even if those views are not shared by the likes of Ashley and Derek Llambias, who are running the club.

But with his side having returned to the top of the Championship, the Newcastle boss is desperate to avoid any demonstrations affecting the performance on the pitch.

“It is the supporters’ prerogative (to protest) because it is their club,” said Hughton, who was in caretaker charge when the club’s fans last staged mass demonstrations to protest at Kevin Keegan’s departure last September.

“But my concerns are that they get behind the team and, to be fair, from that angle they have not let us down.

“I sympathise with the supporters.

They give us wonderful support and there is no doubt that this is their club.

“When you look at the numbers that turned up at Sheffield United, Scunthorpe, Nottingham Forest – after everything we have been through, that is wonderful.

“It is vital for us that they continue to get behind the team. You support a team by getting behind them and being vocal, but that all stems from supporters actually turning up in the first place.

There is no support in this division that has turned up as consistently as our fans.”

Yesterday’s press conference was Hughton’s first since Llambias revealed the St James’ Park name change, and the Newcastle boss chose his words carefully as he looked ahead to tomorrow’s match.

St James’ Park was mentioned on six separate occasions, while the prefix ‘sportsdirect.

com @’ never received an airing.

It remains to be seen whether the signage outside the stadium will be changed ahead of the visit of Peterborough, but Hughton insists the ground’s identity will not be altered by this week’s announcement.

“I am sure in everybody’s eyes, St James’ Park will always be seen as St James’ Park,” he said. “Will people start calling it something different?

I don’t think so.

“Things have gone on in the last week, but the support, which is generous and fantastic, will always see the stadium as St James’. There are always going to be commercial decisions, but the most important thing for me is trying to keep this team in the position we’re in now.”

That process has hardly been helped by this week’s latest bout of upheaval, but after surviving a series of dramas in his three spells as caretaker boss, Hughton is well versed in the art of crisis management.

“It is something that, for the period of time I have been here, I’ve got used to,” he said.

“You get used to just getting on with football matters. They are the things that are most important for me.”

Currently, those football matters revolve around the selection of a team to face Peterborough, and Hughton has been buoyed by the return of Steven Taylor after injury.

His return leaves just Shola Ameobi and Joey Barton on the long-term injury list, and with a two-week international break following tomorrow’s game, the former could be available in just two games time.

“Steven will be fine (for tomorrow),”

said Hughton. “He was touch and go on Monday, but in hindsight the decision not to play him was a good one.”

■ Newcastle’s home game with West Brom is now on Monday, January 18 (ko 7.45pm) live on Sky TV.