Kinnear's caution pays off with emphatic win

AS well as lifting them out of the relegation zone, interim manager Joe Kinnear believes Newcastle United's first away win in the Premier League this season was vindication for their safety-first policy.

The Magpies beat Portsmouth 3-0 yesterday to end a run of four consecutive draws.

It was their fourth clean sheet in their last seven matches and at times they erred on the side of caution, but it paid dividends when Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins and Danny Guthrie found the net. With six draws from their previous ten games under Kinnear, United's habit of consistently claiming solitary points was being called into question in some quarters, but the manager felt those questions were emphatically answered at Fratton Park.

Continue reading »