Kinnear determined to keep Newcastle stars

NEWCASTLE boss Joe Kinnear is even more determined to hang on to his best players as a new injury crisis grips the club.

The 62-year-old has spent the fortnight since the January transfer window opened having to fend off speculation that the likes of Michael Owen, Shay Given, Charles N’Zogbia, Joey Barton and Alan Smith could be sold off, some at their own request and others to fund his own spending mission.

However, Kinnear, who revealed the club is in advanced discussions with two unidentified players — one Italian and the other an Argentine — over loan deals, heads into tonight’s FA Cup replay with Hull with 11 key men confined to the treatment room and even more insistent that there will be no significant departures this month.