He said:

"Ever since I came to Newcastle United, I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The players have been great to work with and the fans have made me feel at home since day one.

We have a big challenge ahead of us for the rest of the season, but together, I'm confident we will make good progress.

We have some very good players already at this club and hopefully we can further strengthen the squad in January, and I will be working very closely with the directors to try to achieve that."

Adding;

"At the moment, the plan is that I identify the players I want and then that will go back to the chairman, Derek Llambias, and then I assume he will give Dennis Wise the order to go and get them, that's how it works.

But they are strictly my players. I identify them, it goes to the board, they will back it, hopefully finances will be made available and then Dennis will be given the task to go and negotiate and get the job done.

I have spoken to the owner, I have explained to him where I think we need to strengthen up with the squad that we have got.

He is quite happy with that and if we can get the players I am looking for, he has promised me that he will back me up."

He also accepted that Michael Owen could potentially request a move at Christmas or walk in the summer. Despite several attempts at contract talks, nothing has been sorted out and transfer rumours will no doubt cause a media frenzy in the coming weeks;

"We have got to sit down with Michael now and actually find out how he feels about the situation," he added.

At the moment, he is being very receptive. I believe he likes it here, to be honest. That's my personal opinion, but until I actually hear it from Michael, I don't know.

But I sincerely hope I am in a position to keep him, for sure, because I wouldn't want to lose him."

Managing Director, Derek Llambias spoke on behalf of the club, commenting on Kinnear's extended contract;

"Joe has done an excellent job since coming to the club, and everyone is delighted he has agreed to remain in charge for the rest of the season."

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