I'd place my full confidence in him. The team has constantly praised Hughton throughout the season and I would not want to break up the positive morale in the dressing room (bar Carroll/Taylor incident). I'm also confident that chief scout Graham Carr can do a decent job, so evidently Hughton has a team which can help advise particularly solid signings. Sacking Hughton will just cause disruption and discontent within the squad - in my opinion, the largest factor which resulted in relegation in the 08/9 season.