Martin Laursen may have clipped the post with a header, while Ashley Young’s shot was saved at point-blank by Shay Given in the first half. Nevertheless, Newcastle were more than worth their 2-0 victory on Monday night, with the players once again proving tough to beat at home against a decent side. One player in the Magpies team wants the interim manager to stick around for a little longer.
Say what you like about Joe Kinnear, but he’s starting to turn things round at St James’ Park. It wasn’t long ago that the team performed really badly at home to Blackburn, with the players looking massively down on confidence after the departure of Kevin Keegan. However, Setanta reports that match-winner Obafemi Martins wants to see the temporary gaffer around for the long-term.
“The gaffer has been a success,” he said. “He’s doing all his best for us just to try to push us in training.
“He told us in training that if we put more effort in it will help in the games as well.
“He helped us a lot today. I think he’s doing his best.
“I think – all the players – we don’t have any problem with Kinnear because he’s doing his best and I hope he stays.”
“I think that the results speak for themselves and if I look at the peformance today it was arguably our best performance since Manchester United on the first game of the season,” said Chris Hughton.
Do Newcastle fans agree that this was the best performance at home this season. Not many teams have stopped Villa from scoring this term, with the likes of Nicky Butt and Damien Duff especially impressive in the middle of the park. Are Magpies supporters confident that the team will not stay up and should Kinnear get the gig permanently?
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