Kinnear Here For The Football Not The Politics

Joe Kinnear has said he is in this for the football & not the politics, despite making waves within the media with his previous comments. Kinnear has hinted in interviews that he does have knowledge of what is going on behind the scenes but hasn't directly commented on the recent state of the club's sale or Ashley's intentions, other than to say he will be in post for an extended period of time.

He said in a recent interview:

"I stay away from the political side of it, and I never even met Tony Jimenez. I don't know anything about the political side of things. That has been the same from day one.

To be honest, I am not interested in anything apart from the football side of it. I am strictly looking at things from a football point of view, and nothing else.

All I am looking at is getting as many points as possible - that's what football is about. And when the confidence starts to come back, it will get a lot better in terms of points."

Newcastle host Manchester City after the international break and Kinnear is hoping to welcome back several injured players, boosting the strength of his starting eleven and bench. One player he will be without however is Mark Viduka who as announced yesterday has flown to Australia for a second opinion on his Achillies injury after being told he may need a second operation to treat it.