Kinnear takes over at Newcastle

Newcastle on Friday appointed former Wimbledon manager Joe Kinnear as their manager for the next five weeks, as it emerged that Kevin Keegan could be back in charge by the end of October.

The unexpected deal with the 61-year-old Kinnear came after former England manager Terry Venables rejected the opportunity to plug the gap left by Keegan's abrupt departure on a similar short-term basis.

Club owner Mike Ashley has been unwilling to appoint a permanent successor to Keegan, who acrimoniously parted company with the club at the start of this month, for fear it could undermine his efforts to find a buyer for the club.

There has been no concrete sign that a sale is close but Kinnear revealed on Friday that Ashley had told him a deal would be concluded in early October and that the prospective new owners intended to reappoint Keegan and bring former club captain Alan Shearer on to the coaching staff.

"I think the club's going to be sold at the beginning of October and [current caretaker boss] Chris Hughton needs all the help he can get," Kinnear said.

In a statement, Newcastle said the former Tottenham and Ireland defender Kinnear "has agreed to take temporary charge of first team affairs at St. James' Park until the end of October".

Kinnear, who also managed Luton and Nottingham Forest, inherits a squad that has lost its last four matches, is currently second from bottom of the Premier League and will be without key striker Obafemi Martins for the duration of his time in charge.

He nevertheless said he was optimistic about turning the club's fortunes around.

"I am very excited about the challenge in front of me at Newcastle United," he said. "Results have not been great of late, but there is a lot of quality in the squad and I am very confident the players are capable of climbing the league table.

"Newcastle United is a great club. When I was in charge of Wimbledon I always remember the passion of the fans up there and how great a stadium St. James' Park is. It is a big challenge but one I am really looking forward to."

Venables earlier revealed that he turned down the role taken up by Kinnear because he was not prepared to accept terms under which he could be dismissed as soon as new owners took over.

"The way the job was offered to me meant that I might be working at St James' Park for two months, two years - or two weeks," Venables wrote in his column for The Sun newspaper. "There was far too much uncertainty involved."

Venables added: "Newcastle United means too much to too many people to take the job on a short-term basis. It demands total commitment and dedication from a manager who is prepared to throw himself heart and soul into the club.

"I didn't want to move up to Tyneside and find myself surplus to requirements before I'd even had the chance to get my teeth into the challenge."

Kinnear will take charge of the team after Newcastle entertain Blackburn on Saturday and the size of the crowd for that match will give an indication as to how fans have reacted to his appointment.

The Magpies midweek defeat by Tottenham in the League Cup was watched by the lowest crowd seen at St James' in 16 years.

Although a Nigerian consortium is reported to be considering a bid to buy Newcastle, there has not yet been any clear indication that anyone is willing to meet Ashley's asking price of more than 400 million pounds.

The retail tycoon decided to sell after fans turned on him in the wake of Keegan's departure, which was triggered by a dispute over transfer policy and the respective roles of the manager and director of football Dennis Wise.

The club confirmed earlier on Friday Nigerian striker Martins will be out of action for the next six weeks with a knee injury.

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM