JOE KINNEAR savoured his first game in charge of Newcastle United and admitted he should have been locked up if he had not agreed to take the job.
And he nearly was, after United’s interim boss – serving a touchline ban – was asked by a police officer to move away from the technical area at Goodison yesterday after his mobile phone died on him as he tried to make a substitution just before half-time.
But despite this, Kinnear clearly enjoyed his first game in charge as he became the first United manager to avoid defeat at Everton since Sir Bobby Robson came away with a 2-2 draw in 2003-04.
United’s 2-2 draw at Goodison Park yesterday ended a run of five successive defeats and lifted some of the gloom and doom on Tyneside.
In his own words, Kinnear has had “more publicity than the President of the United States” since he first appeared on Tyneside a week past Saturday, but he says he is not frightened of the task ahead.
He told me: “It’s a big job – I understand that, and I’m aware of that. And anybody would need locking up for not taking this job.
“Now, I’m really looking forward to the home match with Manchester City in a fortnight’s time.”
Kinnear missed both United’s goals as he had left his seat before Steven Taylor’s header on the stroke of half-time and had not resurfaced until after Damien Duff’s equaliser. But not even that could spoil Kinnear’s day.
He added: “The players showed real character, and they deserve all the plaudits. They worked hard and were maybe unfortunate not to get maximum points.
“It’s a great start, and the main thing was not to get beaten. I’ve been in the game long enough to know what was in store for me had we got beaten, but that’s all done and dusted.
“I was delighted with the overall performance from everybody concerned.
“I had a few choices to make about what shape to go with, and one idea was to play Damien Duff up front with Michael Owen.
“We went with that, having practised keeping the ball on the ground. We had ideas on catching them out.
“It was all plusses from everybody, and we’ve got something to build on now.
“It was disappointing that we gave away two goals, but I didn’t harp on about that at half-time – I kicked it into touch.
“It was about us getting back in the game. I was delighted with the goals. It was two crucial moments to score – one just before half-time and one just afterwards.
“In the second half, for long periods, I was reasonably confident we would edge it and win it 3-2.”
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