NEWCASTLE UNITED have finally confirmed that Joe Kinnear is returning to the club, a day after he incensed fans with a bizarre radio interview in which he got the names of several players wrong and said he was more intelligent than the St James' Park faithful.
The club's statement lacked any input from manager Alan Pardew. He will now be expected to work under Kinnear, who has been given the title director of football, prompting fears that the move could prove as divisive within the club as it has been outside it.
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"Pardew is understood to be keeping his options open over whether it will be possible for him to work with Kinnear," says the paper. "Along with staying out of team selection and tactics, one of Pardew’s demands will be for Kinnear to stop courting publicity in the media."
Kinnear's latest effort, a bizarre interview on TalkSport radio on Monday, was "especially calamitous in public relations terms, and included a series of wild and inaccurate boasts about his ability and track record", notes the Telegraph. He also got players' names wrong, and called Yohan Cabaye "Kebab".
But keeping Kinnear in check will not be simple, says The Times, which notes that the Irishman "is not so easy to control"
The paper reports that Kinnear's car-crash radio appearance made Pardew feel "uncomfortable", and adds: "There can only be doubts about whether the axis of Kinnear, [chief scout Graham] Carr and Pardew can thrive, particularly as the last two would appear to have had their authority dented.
"It felt telling ... that Newcastle's statement did not include a response from Pardew."
Newcastle fans were "angered and astonished" by the confirmation of the appointment, says The Guardian. It notes that many believed the TalkSport interview had rendered his new role "untenable" before he even started.
Fans have threatened to boycott games and surrender season tickets since the news broke, the local paper called the appointment a "joke", and even Newcastle MP Chi Onwurah has expressed bewilderment, reports the paper.
The Guardian also suggests that if Kinnear tries to interfere in first team matters, Pardew would construe it as "breach of contract", a move that could end his tenure as Newcastle manager.