Kinnear: Michael’s out on his Owen at Toon

JOE KINNEAR is looking to his own Jimmy Greaves to help turn Newcastle’s season around.

The 61-year-old has compared skipper Michael Owen to the hugely gifted England international, alongside whom he played during his days at Tottenham.

Owen has provided the link between the interim boss and the players during the first few days of his reign on Tyneside, and he has been hugely impressed by the 28-year-old.

“He can have a serious impact. Everything about Michael Owen is quality, his whole demeanour, his approach to the game.

“We know he’s one of the best finishers. I played with somebody like Michael in my time, and that was Jimmy Greaves.

“He’s sharp, has a very quick brain, sees the opportunity and reads the game well. He’s exactly what Jimmy Greaves was all about.

“It’s nice to have somebody of such importance in the dressing room. This week, Michael has been a great help around the ground.”

Owen’s goals could prove invaluable to the Magpies as they attempt to dig themselves out of a deep hole.

The England striker has five in his last seven games for the club and with Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins still on the casualty list ahead of Sunday’s Barclays Premier League trip to Everton, he is the man most likely to find the back of the net.

Newcastle have lost each of their last five games, four of them in the league, to slip to one place off the bottom of the table.

They will be boosted at Goodison Park by the return of Danny Guthrie from suspension, while fullbacks Jose Enrique and Habib Beye could figure after shaking off their injury problems.

Guthrie’s problems were self-inflicted when he kicked out at Hull midfielder Craig Fagan in the dying minutes of his side’s 2-1 home defeat by the promoted Tigers on September 13 and was sent off.

However, the former Liverpool midfielder had made an impressive start to his career on Tyneside, and he has been missed during a torrid few weeks for the club.

Like Joey Barton, who is serving a six-match ban for his training ground clash with Ousmane Dabo at Manchester City, he is the kind of bubbly character former Wimbledon boss Kinnear is desperate to have at his disposal.

Kinnear said with a smile: “Joey Barton, without a doubt, is one who would be in the Crazy Gang for the simple fact that he is crazy. He is very infectious, just like Danny Guthrie. They whizz in and out. Nicky Butt is the same, and we have some really good characters in the dressing room.”