Kinnear hails battling Magpies

Newcastle interim boss Joe Kinnear felt the crisis club showed much improvement after battling back to draw at Everton.

The struggling Magpies trailed 2-0 at Goodison Park but goals from Steven Taylor and Damien Duff saw them hit back for a Barclays Premier League point.

Newcastle remain in the bottom three but Kinnear, when asked if his side could have won, told Sky Sports: "Yes, when you consider the two great opportunities we had to win the game."

He added: "We had two kicked off the line, we were 2-0 down, we pushed the game all the way and if there was anyone going to win the game it was us.

"We have worked two, three sessions morning and afternoon since I have arrived at the club. I think it is starting to show.

"I was very much concerned that maybe we didn't have enough experience in the side on the pitch, but I am an optimist."

Kinnear watched the game from the stands due to a touchline ban hanging over from his last spell in management, at Nottingham Forest, four years ago.

He missed Taylor's goal as he left his seat just before the interval and did not see Duff scoring early in the second half either as police stopped him passing a message to the bench.

Kinnear added: "I was racing down at half-time when a goal was scored, then I was racing back up again.

"I wanted to get some information onto the bench but of course the busy police got busy as usual and sent me back upstairs again. In between all this I'm missing the goals but it was a great effort by everyone concerned."