Scolari hails Kinnear after draw

Disappointed Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari paid tribute to Joe Kinnear after stubborn Newcastle battled hard for a draw at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea squandered a hatful of chances to win the game but the brilliance of Shay Given in United’s goal and the home side’s wayward finishing thwarted them.

Liverpool’s home draw with Fulham helped Chelsea to stay on top of the Barclays Premier League on goal difference but they have now dropped nine points at home and Scolari knows they must improve at the Bridge.

“Newcastle were very good,” admitted Scolari.

“They played for a draw and got one. They didn’t come here to play for a win - just a draw.

“They were better than us because they were only thinking about a draw and got one, while we were thinking about a win and didn’t.

“Newcastle did not have one shot on goal in 90 minutes. We had 70% of the possession but we didn’t score a goal.

“If we had scored, maybe we would have scored three or four but we lost two points.

“Sometimes it is more easy to win away than at Stamford Bridge. When you are away, the home fans pressure their team to attack us, but you are at home, they don’t want to attack us.

“I said congratulations to the coach and his team. They had a strategy to draw and it worked. We have now lost nine points at home.

“We had two or three chances to score and we didn’t – this is football.”

It was the kind of game that cried out for a striker of Didier Drogba’s class but the Ivorian sat out the game because of a three-match ban.

The Ivory Coast striker was suspended after throwing a coin back into the crowd during Chelsea’s Carling Cup defeat by Burnley.

But Scolari added: “Drogba is out. It is not only Drogba, it is my team.

“My team is not only one player, it is 24. If we lose because we are missing one player, we are not a team. But we are a team.”

Joe Kinnear was given a further month in charge by owner Mike Ashley yesterday and said the draw ’felt like a win’.

Kinnear will now be in charge until the end of December and if the club is not sold before then, he will be trying to strengthen the squad in the January transfer window.

A delighted Kinnear said: “Scolari congratulated me which was very kind of him.

“I make no apology for playing for a draw. In the last three days we’ve been planning to force Chelsea to play in front of us, which I thought we did very well.

“Although Chelsea had more possession than ourselves, they didn’t create a clear-cut chance really. Everything was long shots and Shay Given pulled off a world-class save.

“It is probably the best team performance we’ve had away from home this year. Even though we drew 2-2 at Everton, I would say this is the best performance.

“We got bodies in the way and the two centre-halves were magnificent. They got their just rewards today.

“We dug in there and it feels like a win in the dressing room. We drew with Wigan at home and that felt like a loss, but this feels like a victory.”