The chaotic sale of Newcastle is hardly helping the Toon troops at the moment, with Shearer unable to work with the players who want him back as boss. United top brass were unhappy at mooted figures of in excess of £80million following a visit from a Malaysian consortium last week and seem determine to hold out for £100m. Yet the Chronicle understands that holding out for the asking price could easily make the sale drag on for another month, with fans wondering when the pain will start to decrease. And with Joe Kinnear’s comments that he is “fit as a fiddle” and ready to return to Tyneside in an interim role like last season when he failed to win 14 of his 18 games in charge, this has understandably resulted in another stand of defiance by disillusioned season ticket holders. And with just one month before the start of the Championship season to go the hysteria on Tyneside shows no sign of calming down. However, former Tottenham Hotspur favourite Hughton has attempted to shield his players from the farcical surroundings back in Newcastle. He said: “Obviously, there are things going on outside our control. “But what we can do is work the players hard, and prepare them for the season in a proper and correct way. “We’ll be away for five days before the Shamrock Rovers game, and we’ll get a lot of work done. “It’s going to be a long season, so we need the players to be as fit as possible.” United arrived in Dublin at teatime last night with unsettled big earners such as Fabricio Coloccini, Jose Enrique and controversial midfielder Joey Barton all present. Sebastien Bassong, Geremi, Jonas Gutierrez and Xisco have been told to report back to training at the club’s Benton base next Monday, while Irish winger Damien Duff will link up in his native country this week. Meanwhile, Italian youngster Fabio Zamblera is back on Tyneside after a loan spell with Sampdoria last term. However, the teenage striker, who was brought to United during the ill-fated Dennis Wise era, failed to make an impression. | 
Article
