Toon Insider Claims Ashley Will Stick With The 'Titanic Kid'!

Last updated : 25 March 2009 By Footy Mad - Editor
Yes the 'Titanic Kid' (Chris Hughton) is sending us down!

And apparently Mike Ashley will be sticking to his guns despite dressing room calls for the sports detail tycoon to appoint "someone of real authority" to steer the club out of the relegation zone.

That means he will entrust the job of maintaining the club's Premier League status to his current managerial team with Hughton set to remain in charge until Joe Kinnear returns to take the helm following heart surgery next month.

The Telegraph claim Ashley will not go back to Terry Venables and ask for help.

Toon Insider: "Mike Ashley is definitely not interested in employing a Red Adair figure and is 100 per cent confident in the ability of his managerial team to get the club out of trouble.

"There have been no conversations with Terry Venables and there won't be any with him or anyone else for that matter. That's 100 per cent guaranteed.
They're not interested in El Tel. There'll be no new faces.

"Mike remains 100 per cent committed to sticking with what they have currently got come what may.

"Now it is just a question of which game Joe Kinnear comes back for and Mike's confident Joe will get them out of trouble.

"His recovery is going exceptionally well and he expects to back for the Stoke game (on April 11) in some capacity or the Tottenham match a week later if things keep going well.

"The players have all been talking about how they need someone of real authority to sort it out.

"There is no leader since Joe Kinnear took ill. It is not that they don't respect Hughton as a coach because they do, but he is no manager."