Coloccini thinking of unwell Kinnear
The Magpies boss underwent triple heart bypass surgery yesterday, a procedure which will keep him away from the training ground and the dug-out for at least two months.
But having seen his team respond in the perfect fashion just hours after the 62-year-old was taken to hospital by beating West Brom 3-2 last weekend, Coloccini is hoping for more of the same as the season reaches its crunch point.
He said: “Beating West Brom was also important because we wanted to win for Joe Kinnear. When somebody is out of action like that, you need to show that you remember them, and winning is our way of doing that.”
Kinnear was admitted to hospital on Saturday morning after he reported feeling unwell and the club’s doctors discovered his blood pressure was high.
He had hoped to be back in the harness by the time his side face Everton in the Premier League next Sunday.
However, tests revealed that an operation was required 10 years after the then Wimbledon manager suffered a heart attack, and little time has been wasted in addressing the problem.
But that has left the club without a manager for the second time this season following Kevin Keegan’s departure in September.
Assistants Chris Hughton and recent recruit Colin Calderwood have been put in charge of team affairs in Kinnear’s absence, and owner Mike Ashley will hope a series of positive results will mean he does not have to launch a hunt for another boss before the end of a campaign which has lurched from one crisis to another.
The win at the Hawthorns ended a run of six league games without a victory and eased the club into 13th place in the table.
However, they remain just four points above the drop zone with a desperately difficult run of fixtures ahead of them — Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea are due to follow the Toffees to St James’s Park in their next four home games.
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