Newcastle name Kinnear interim boss

Newcastle have named former Wimbledon and Luton manager Joe Kinnear as their interim boss until the end of October in a shock new twist at St James' Park.

The Magpies have been without a manager since Kevin Keegan quit on 4 September, slumping to three straight defeats.

But Kinnear, 61, believes Keegan, and possibly Alan Shearer, could take over once the club is sold to new owners.

The Irishman, who has been out of football management since 2004, said: "I am very excited by this challenge."

And he told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I am aware that the new owners have Kevin Keegan and possibly Alan Shearer parked around the corner.

"I understand investors are about to buy the club, (current owner) Mike Ashley told me openly. I will be here for six to eight games."

Ashley has put the club up for sale after becoming tired of the abuse he has received from fans following Keegan's resignation at the beginning of the month and the team's poor start to the season.

A Nigerian consortium claims it is preparing a £350m takeover fund, with London-based businessman Chris Nathaniel saying: "We're at the stage where we are doing the security checks on the individuals who have the money."

And Kinnear is fully aware - and comfortable with - the fact the role is temporary.

"I've never run from a fight in football and this is just about getting the team through," he told 5 Live.

"I believe the club will be sold soon and at the moment (coach) Chris Hughton needs all the help he can get. I hope now that I can help to get a few results together.

"Those are the cards that I have and I'll do the best that I can."

He admits his appointment may not sit well with the club's supporters.

"The fans will be disappointed, I understand that, but I can't do anything about. I will just be doing my very best because I am desperate to get back into the game.

"I will be going up to Newcastle on Monday and will pick the team from then. I'll speak to Chris about it."

The appointment follows news that Terry Venables turned down the role over concerns about job security.

Former England manager Glenn Hoddle and ex-Leeds and Aston Villa boss David O'Leary were also heavily linked with the temporary role, but Ashley opted for Kinnear.

Kinnear resigned from Nottingham Forest in December 2004 after a poor start to the campaign, despite having kept the club up in the previous season.

But he is best remembered for his spell in charge of Wimbledon in the 1990s, leading them to sixth in the league in 1994.

And despite his mixed success at Luton and then Forest, Kinnear is hopeful he can lead a turnaround in Newcastle's fortunes, with United currently second from bottom in the Premier League.

"Newcastle United is a great club," he said. "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.

"The team are riddled with injuries with nine players out, which makes the job even harder, but myself and Chris will be working all hours to turn it around."

And Hughton, who has served as caretaker since Keegan's departure, welcomed the appointment, saying: "The most important thing is that there is a direction at the club.

"The club felt they needed somebody to come in and give them, certainly for the period of time he will be in, that stability until something major happens, whenever that will be.

"I know Joe well. He is an experienced manager, somebody who has good experience in the Premier League and I am sure he will know most of these players and be aware of their strengths and weaknesses."

All they need now is Vinny Jones and its Wimbledon#2.

That club is in a right state.

Just a token gesture really, pretty low though.

As if people like O'Leary and Venables would go there with absolutely no guarantee of their job.

i love it how disco writes more about newcastle then he does about sunderland! haha.

my club is going down the drain

its a shame this is happening now coz mike ashley seems to have won the derby for you guys disco.

if things never got this bad. i dont think you guys would have the quality to beat us tho.

I can seriously see Newcastle getting relegated this season if they are still in this position by Xmas. I never even heard of that Joe Kinnear bloke until yesterday and who the fuck employs a temporary manager? What will Kinnear do differently to Houghton?

I can see Owen, Given and Martins leaving in January.

He was wank at forrest so.....

How much more farcical can this get? There was another ludicrous twist at Newcastle yesterday when it emerged that Joe Kinnear, the man appointed as interim manager, will have to serve a two-match touchline ban because he called a referee “Coco the Clown” back in 2004, when he was in charge of Nottingham Forest.

Do you mean he has to serve the ban now?
He gets a touchline ban for something he did 4 years ago!

well the media love to jump on newcastle for seemingly feck all.... now they have a REAL reason too. i got no complaints.


the reason king kinnear is just temperary is coz ther is no guarentees of a job wen new owners take over. so whats the point in him having a perminant contract.

and hughton isnt really much of a head coach. so i can imagine kinnear can offer something different. lets not forget that kinnear managed to win the FA cup as a manager with spurs....


thats not me saying newcastle are gna win the fa cup. all im saying is that maybe this fella can hopefully get a few invaluable points for newcastle....


dont forget folks.... tottenham are worse off in the league than newcastle!

bye bye jaunde, see you in spain.

how long till he quits.

spurs vs newcastle shud be exiting if its a reli battle

Spurs Newcastle in the cup was one of the worst games I've seen for ages. The first half anyway. Full on suicide football there.

Got me tickets for the Derby an hour after they came out lol, couldn't come quick enough.

i was in amsterdam when that match was on. i didnt bother checking the result coz it was obvos what was gna happen.

i guess this is the first time in a decade the mackems are gna be going into a derby day knowing they stand a chance.

its a shame this has happend coz like i say earlier. if the off the field problems never happend, we would have no doubt of beating the mackems once again.

its a shame that the off the field problems affect the on the field performance

You were lucky to get a draw last year . As for the match at your place the less said the better lol.


Still, what's happened at Newcastle might warn off any other immature dickheads with money (see Ashley) think twice about trying to "be one of the lads" while running a club.

iv said it before and i will say it again.... its the fans fault the club is in this mess.... not mike ashleys.

if they hadnt boycotted the hull game and created all the fuss that the media have just fed on like the dirty leechers they are, then we may have stood a chance of beating them. and maybe one of the other games we could have nicked a point or two.

the fact that the fans acted so volitile made ashley want to sell the club... which meant that no decent manager could be brought in coz no manager wants to take charge of a club temporarily and where the fans are acting like wild animals.

who knows. keegan may be gone and the fans didnt like it. but he was never the messiah... but any other manager who may have been ok with the set up might have fourished with it.

who is to say that mike ashleys set up wont have worked in the long run? we just needed the right manager to adapt to it. if keegan wanted to walk away from it, fine. but a club should not be defined by one man. fat mike poured quarter of a billion pounds into this once respectable club and then some.

now is it just me. or am i the only geordie who can see this?

To be fair, Ashley has paid a lot of your debts off but he still should have not brought Wise in. Keegan was doing a fine job by himself, he didn't need Wise sticking his nose in.

You're right, maybe Keegan wouldn't have turned things around but he was only given 8 months in the job. I could seriously see Newcastle going for a Uefa Cup spot this season and at least finish in the top 10.

I don't think Ashley's set up would have worked. He didn't give Keegan the transfer funds he needed to rebuild the team. It's all well and good paying off the debts but you need to give your manager some money too. Add to that fact that most of Newcastle's signings this summer are loan signings who will most likely leave at the end of the season, it doesn't look too good.