EPL: Newcastle United appoint Joe Kinnear as director

Newcastle United on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of Joe Kinnear as director of football, as he hit out at his detractors who criticised his return to the English Premier League side.

The St James' Park club said the 66-year-old former Wimbledon and Nottingham Forest manager had signed a three-year deal and would be "the senior executive in charge of all football-related matters".

"The board are pleased to welcome Joe back to the club," managing director Derek Llambias said on nufc.co.uk.

"Joe has many years of experience working within the game and this experience will be of great benefit to the club in achieving our objectives over the coming seasons."

Kinnear's move back to the club he managed from September 2008 until heart problems forced him out the following year, has been controversial, with many fans claiming it made coach Alan Pardew's position untenable.

But Kinnear has done little to quell those fears, saying in a radio interview on Monday night that the criticisms were unjustified and many of his detractors were "talking out of their backsides, a load of tosh".

"I'm not accepting it, as simple as that. I have certainly got more intelligence than them, that's a fact," he told talkSPORT.

Newcastle made the Europa League quarter-finals last season but finished a disappointing 16th in the English Premier League.

Kinnear, who claimed that Pardew was "delighted" at his appointment, claimed in the interview that he had an extensive list of contacts which would help his job.

Pardew has yet to comment publicly.

"I've spent my whole life talking to (former Manchester United manager) Alex Ferguson, week in, week out. What would you do?" Kinnear went on.

"I can pick the phone up at any time of the day and speak to (Arsenal coach) Arsene Wenger, any manager in the league. In all the divisions."