Kinnear curses his critics as Toon keep sliding

JOE KINNEAR will take training for the first time at Newcastle this morning knowing that he is the man with everything to gain and nothing to lose.

The 61-year-old Irishman – who was swift to distance himself from the ‘Cockney mafia’ so reviled on Tyneside – will take over team affairs from caretaker boss Chris Hughton.

His challenge is to drag the club out of a mess on the field, which is almost as hopeless as the one off it.

It is perhaps fitting that the man appointed by desperate owner Mike Ashley after most of the other candidates body-swerved the job has turned up with his own handicap – a two-game touchline ban.

But as Seymour Pierce chairman Keith Harris, the man appointed by Ashley to sell the club, enters into substantive talks with potential future owners, Kinnear knows his reign will be short and will not make or break Newcastle’s season.

A South African consortium have now declared an interest in Newcastle and Ashley hopes to sell as quickly as possible.

The sorry Magpies were beaten 2-1 at home by Blackburn on Saturday, their fifth successive defeat with the last four coming since Kevin Keegan’s departure, and confidence has officially hit rock bottom.

Kinnear has also bristled at his reception from the media on Tyneside, which has bordered on the downright contemptuous.

"I've won ******* European medals, I've got international caps but, because I was associated with Wimbledon for so long and turned people over, the hatred starts," he said. "I know I'm going to get crucified and ******* everything else but I'll take it on the chin. There's always someone who wants to stab you in the back but ******** to that, I'll stand up for myself. I've only been here five minutes and I'm branded a Cockney. How the **** am I a Cockney?, I was born and reared in Ireland."

Saturday’s first half left the bulk of a crowd of 44,935 wondering just how far the club’s descent has to run.

Hughton had to create a team from the leftovers of a woefully inadequate squad which has been ripped apart by injury and suspension.

The result was depressingly predictable as goals from Christopher Samba and Roque Santa Cruz arrived in the first half.

They both headed past exposed goalkeeper Shay Given to give Rovers a 2-0 lead which Paul Ince later suggested could have been 4-0 or 5-0.

Kinnear was prevented from taking his seat in the dug-out due to the ban earned during the fag-end of his Forest tenure — the FA confirmed yesterday it has one more match to run — but he still addressed the players forcefully at the break.

That sparked a response, with Michael Owen drilling home a 49th-minute penalty, but there was to be no fight-back.

REFEREE: Steve Tanner (Somerset) 5: The penalty was soft to say the least. Newcastle should have been awarded an earlier spot-kick for a handball.

MATCH RATING: ** Entertainment is thin on the ground on Tyneside. Blackburn simply had to show up to take the points.

NEWCASTLE (4-4-2): Given 6, Bassong 5, Taylor 5, Coloccini 4, Cacapa 4, Geremi 5 (Ameobi 71, 5), Butt 6, Duff 6, N'Zogbia 5 (Edgar 82, 5), Xisco 5, Owen 6.

Subs Not Used: Harper, Tozer, Doninger, Donaldson, Ranger.

BLACKBURN (4-4-2): Brown 6, Simpson 6, Nelsen 7, Samba 7, Warnock 6, Emerton 6, Olsson 7, Tugay 7, Derbyshire 6 (Ooijer 84, 5), Santa Cruz 7 (Roberts 84, 5), Villanueva 6 (Fowler 62, 5).

Subs Not Used: Bunn, Pedersen, Andrews, Treacy.