EXCLUSIVE: Fit-again Kinnear is back in Toon

Joe Kinnear is set to return to the Newcastle hot-seat on Monday in a hammer blow to fans’ hopes of getting rid of hated owner Mike Ashley and bringing in local hero Alan Shearer.

HE S BACK Joe Kinnear is returning to Toon HE'S BACK: Joe Kinnear is returning to Toon

Ashley has been desperately trying to sell the club all summer, but his decision to hand the reins to Kinnear strongly suggests he has failed to find a buyer prepared to pay his £100million asking price. That could mean Ashley staying for at least another season as he attempts to add value to the club by restoring their Premiership status at the first attempt.

Kinnear spent six months in charge at St James’ Park last season, only to suffer a severe illness in February which left him requiring open-heart surgery. But he has now told friends he is putting together a coaching unit for his second stab at the Toon job.

Only last week, he revealed Ashley had offered him a two-year contract to take over at Newcastle but declined it because he felt he needed more time to recover. Now Kinnear has been given the all-clear by doctors and has been told by Ashley to start work on Monday.

He will not be a popular choice with either players or fans but he will point to his record at Wimbledon, where he kept the tiny south London club in the Premier League for seven years, and his first spell at St James’ Park, where he went some way towards stabilising a spiralling club.

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