Hughton hopes to ease pressure

Chris Hughton is eager to ensure that Joe Kinnear returns to work with Newcastle away from the relegation zone. Kinnear confirmed earlier on Friday that he plans to be back in the St James' Park dugout when Tottenham travel to the North East on 18th April.While the former Wimbledon and Nottingham Forest boss has been recuperating at home following major heart surgery, the Magpies have slipped further into the mire.They are currently only out of the relegation places on goal difference and face a stern test on Saturday with UEFA Champions League chasing Arsenal the visitors to Tyneside.Hughton will remain in charge for the following home game against Chelsea and then a relegation six-pointer at Stoke before handing the reins back to Kinnear, provided his recovery continues as planned.GapDespite the tricky run of fixtures, Hughton does not want the pressure to be firmly on his convalescing manager's shoulders when he returns.Hughton said: "It's vitally important."Irrespective of whether Joe is here or not, we are looking at each of these nine games and the quicker we can get some points and alleviate a bit of that pressure and also create a little bit of a gap, the better."If I am able to hand over to Joe in a good position, that is vitally important."Although Kinnear will not be there to guide his team into one of their toughest fixtures of the season against Gunners, he will make a growing contribution over the coming weeks.InputHughton said: "I speak to Joe regularly. The difficult thing for Joe is he is not here."There is a difference watching the games live and watching the games on video."Joe is very much aware of what his input can be, but certainly we expect that to be a lot more over the next few weeks."But the most important thing is that he is making a good recovery."

Source: SKY_Sports