Newcastle soar to the summit

Newcastle United, relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season along with north-east rivals Middlesbrough and West Brom, look very much on their way to regaining their top-flight status.

Newcastle appear to have hit the nail on its head at last.

Instead of going for a big name to manage their team, the board opted to give the job to loyal assistant Chris Hughton. There is still a long way to go but the Magpies look determined to bring back Premier League football to their loyal fans.

Before going down last year, Newcastle had only spent one season outside the Premier League. To date, Newcastle are the only side in the Championship not to lose a match at home.

Middlesbrough and West Brom have experienced different fortunes so far. While West Brom are in third place, Boro are further below in a mid-table position.

Both sides went through a managerial change. In West Brom's case, Tony Mowbray left to take over Celtic last summer.

West Brom handed the job to Roberto di Matteo, the Italian who managed League One side Milton Keyes Dons before.

Incidentally, former Celtic boss Gordon Strachan took over at Middlesbrough to fill the void left by Gareth Southgate who was dismissed. Strachan was appointed Middlesbrough manager in October and was therefore unable to sign new players immediately.

One expects a new-look Boro team next month as Strachan is busily scrutinising the market. His main hunting ground has been Celtic Park.

Three of a handful of sides fighting it out for promotion are Nottingham Forest, Cardiff City and Leicester City.

Forest, the only side not to lose on their travels, are under the guidance of Billy Davies. They have been out of the top echelon for 10 seasons. That is an incredible long absence for Forest who won the European Cup on two occasions in 1979 and 1980.

Since their drop from the Premier League, the Reds had six managers, David Platt, Paul Hart, Joe Kinnear, Gary Megson, Colin Calderwood and now Davies. Moreover, Forest spent three years in League One before they gained promotion in 2008.

Leicester had also rubbed shoulders with the elite of the Premier League in 2003-03.

The Foxes are managed by Nigel Pearson.

Cardiff remained loyal to manager Dave Jones despite missing out on the promotion play-offs by an inferior goal difference to Preston last season.

The play-offs

Which were the four teams that contested the do-or-die deciders last year?

Burnley beat Sheffield United in the final at Wembley and the defeated semi-finalists were Reading and Preston.

The Blades, under the reign of Kevin Blackwell, are dreaming of achieving at least another place in the play-offs come May but Reading and Preston are having nightmares in the bottom eight of the division.

Reading departed from manager Brendan Rodgers and appointed Brian McDermott on a caretaker basis. Preston have sacked Alan Irvine for Darren Ferguson (the son of Alex Ferguson).

Reading may leave McDermott in the hot seat following their remarkable FA Cup wins at Liverpool and Burnley. Their giant-killing run this season has given McDermott a much-needed boost as the board is constantly discussing his future.

Can Forest return?

But, which team can win promotion as dark horses this season?

Many reckon Forest, Leicester or Blackpool can defy expectations.

Leicester, who climbed into the Championship as Division One league winners last season, can gain back-to-back promotions.

Cash controversy appears to surround their club chairman Milan Mandaric who left Portsmouth to take over at the Walker Stadium. Pearson became the fourth manager to lead the Foxes since the turn of the century.

Forest finished in 19th place last season but they have made giant strides since.

Blackpool suffered a blow when they lost the services of highly promising boss Simon Grayson, who joined Leeds United (have shown their craft and guile against Manchester United in the FA Cup). His replacement, Ian Holloway, is managing his fifth club since the late 1990s.

Along with Leicester, the two other clubs to gain promotion from Division One were runners-up Peterborough and Scunthorpe. The latter topped the play-offs after a 3-2 victory over Millwall.

Both can return to the game's third tier. Peterborough are rooted to the bottom of the division and Scunthorpe are a few places above them.

Other sides

Clubs that could claim a place in the play-off zone at the end of the term could be Swansea, Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers.

Swansea, like Blackpool, were shocked when their Spanish manager Roberto Martinez left to join Premier League side Wigan.

The Swans named Portuguese Paulo Sousa as Martinez's successor. As a player, Sousa was described as one of the aces in his country's golden age. The classic defensive midfielder had also played for Benfica, Juventus and Inter among others.

The London duo of Palace and QPR have a rich history and both are presently striving to be among the members of the top flight. The Eagles of Selhurst Park, in the Premier League in 2004-05, failed to last the pace and came straight down.

Manager Neil Warnock, having plotted many a successful promotion bid in his career (most of them through the play-offs) can hog the limelight once more but his ambitions may be undermined by the club's financial woes.

QPR changed their manager only last month, sacking Jim Magilton for ex-Portsmouth boss Paul Hart. Yet, Hart survived only 29 days at Loftus Road. His assistant Mick Harford is in charge on a temporary basis until the end of the season.

The blue-and-white hoops are one of the founder members of the Premier League and remained there for four seasons.

It is indeed depressing to watch sides like Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town fighting for dear life in the doldrums of the Championship.

Wednesday had also fired their manager in December as Brian Laws made way for Sean McAuley.

Since then Laws has taken over at Premier League side Burnley.

Roy Keane, ex-Manchester United star, could be shown the exit door once more after he was dismissed at Sunderland. But, the Town still believe that the Irishman can turn things around at Portman Road.