Kinnear rejects Owen criticism

Magpies boss insists striker's performance was not below-par

By James Dall   Last updated: 3rd December 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Kinnear rejects Owen criticism

Owen: Kinnear backing

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Newcastle United manager Joe Kinnear has hit out at the 'out of order' criticism directed at striker Michael Owen.

Owen has come under fire for his performance in the 0-0 draw at rivals Middlesbrough last weekend.

Kinnear, though, has backed the 28-year-old frontman, insisting he deserved to remain on the field.

"I thought some of the comments about Michael Owen's display on Saturday were a bit out of order and well over the top," he told the Evening Chronicle.

"Yes, Michael had a quiet game by his high standards, but the coaching staff on the bench could see how hard he was working, and we felt he did a lot of unselfish running for the team.

"This was backed up when we had a look at the video after the game and studied each individual performance and saw what Owen had done.

"Our big regret at Middlesbrough on Saturday was that none of the chances we created came Michael's way, but this was not necessarily his fault.

"He kept running into goalscoring positions, but he just never got the ball - and this is something we have to work on."