Newcastle still expect Joe Kinnear return

The St James' Park club have insisted that Kinnear remains on course to return to work next month following his triple heart bypass operation and played down suggestions that the 62-year-old had suffered a setback following in February. Newcastle have maintained that Kinnear had only caught a chest cold and is still on course to be back in harness for the Premier League trip to Stoke on April 11 or the visit to Tottenham a week later. Caretaker-manager Chris Hughton is still expecting Kinnear to be back in action sooner rather than later. "The indications are – and I haven't heard anything different to that – that he would return round about the Stoke or Spurs games," Hughton said. "But we will all be guided by the experts in that field, and more so one person himself, and that's Joe. "That's where we are at the moment. Whether that changes or not, we will find out. Joe is still in that period where his rehabilitation has gone very well. But he has had big surgery and there are days when he is better than other days." The club has also dismissed claims Terry Venables could be drafted in amid fears Kinnear may not return to his duties this term Hughton and coach Colin Calderwood have been asked to hold the fort until the former Wimbledon boss is ready to come back, and it is understood no further appointment would be made even if there was a significant delay. Newcastle remain in dire relegation trouble after Saturday's 1-1 draw at Hull, which left them clear of the drop zone only on goal difference. They face top-four duo Arsenal and Chelsea at St James' Park in their next two games looking for a vast improvement on the form they showed at the KC Stadium. Meanwhile, former Chelsea midfielder Geremi believes Newcastle team have a "good chance" of derailing his old club's title challenge and Arsenal's bid for a top-four place. The Cameroonian is bullish about Newcastle's prospects when they play host to Arsenal at St James' Park this Saturday and the Chelsea after the international break on Saturday, April 4. "I don't think the fans are now expecting defeats against Chelsea and Arsenal," said Geremi. "They have seen some nice performances from us and I really think that they are looking at those games expecting us to get something, especially when we are at home." "If we play like we did against Man United and the fans are all behind us, giving us a big lift, we have a good chance. We need the fans and they know it." Reflecting on the draw at Hull, he continued: "A point is both good and bad. I think from the performance we deserved more. But we have to take the point because at this stage we need what points we can get. "And the point we have got has been made to look even better because of the other results on the day. After the game, seeing those results, there was a good feeling in the dressing room because of what other teams have done." "We are happy, but the most important thing is the performance. If you look at the last few matches our performances have been better, particularly the Man United one even though we didn't get the result." "After coming from behind to get a point we have to be happy. We don't think we should be looking at this result negatively because it was a good performance. "Unfortunately, we didn't really have the chances to score a second goal, but to get a point is good for us. That was really important because we can now really think about climbing the table."

Source: Telegraph