Joe Kinnear will not return to Newcastle United as manager, sources at the club said today.

A report claimed the 62-year-old has been asked to take charge at St James' Park for the second time, as Mike Ashley struggles to offload the club he put up for sale days after relegation to the Championship was confirmed.

However, sources at Tyneside have insisted that is not the case and efforts to secure a deal with prospective buyers, who will then appoint their own manager, are ongoing.