Chris Hughton focused on Blues

Chris Hughton refused to talk about his future as Birmingham suffered play-off heartache at St Andrew's.

The Blues boss, who is favourite to succeed Roy Hodgson at Albion, saw his side stage a remarkable second-half fight-back to give themselves hope in the second leg of their Championship play-off with Blackpool, but ultimately they came up short.

A 3-2 aggregate defeat meant Birmingham's season ended after a gruelling 62 games but Hughton was keen to sidestep talk of his future and paid tribute to his Blues players.

"My focus is very much on Birmingham City," Hughton said. "Anything else is just speculation.

"It's been a really tough night for us. We came into the game with a real chance and I've walked away from a devastated changing room. We all feel that way.

"It's been a real long, tough season for us and with that comes a lot of ups and downs and lot of emotion. We have got a lot of people – players and staff – who have spent a lot of time together this season and that makes it even tougher. We have to congratulate Blackpool on their victory."

Asked how he felt hearing the Birmingham fans chanting his name towards the end of the Blackpool contest, Hughton added: "It made me feel good. They have been super all season."