Strengthening the midfield now a priority

Joe Kinnear has had to tinker with his transfer plans now Joey Barton has been ruled out until March.

The troubled midfielder made just five appearances after returning from a suspension for assaulting his then-Manchester City team-mate Ousmane Dabo before succumbing to knee ligament damage. But Barton was a key figure in those games and without him the Magpies midfield looks rather one-dimensional.

Nicky Butt and Danny Guthrie have performed well in the Merseysider’s absence but share the same combative qualities. Without Barton there is a lack of creativity and goal threat from central midfield. So when he was told Barton would not be back in training until February, or playing until March, Kinnear admitted he reworked his shopping list ahead of the January sales.

“I think Joey’s pretty much two months away (from playing),” said the former defender. “He’s got to get himself back in shape, hasn’t he? I know they’re saying he’ll be ready to start training in six weeks but I think he’ll need at least another two or three weeks after that. We’re probably looking at March before he comes back into the side.

“That’s a big blow. It’s more serious than we actually thought. It means we’ll be looking for a midfielder in the transfer window now.”

Barton’s recovery was initially expected to be a month quicker and even the news that his knee did not require an operation did nothing to speed up the process. “He hasn’t needed surgery but because of the delicacy of where the surgery is, it’s taking longer than we anticipated for it to perfectly knit together,” Kinnear explained. United’s interim manager admitted yesterday he might have to scour the Championship for bargains rather than spending the big fees some of his St James’s Park predecessors have done in the past decade or so.

And he thinks the credit crunch will eat into most of his rivals’ budgets, too.

“The credit crunch will play a major role in transfer window activity,” he said. “Whatever price is thrown out there everyone is going back with half that amount. Plus we have seen so many clubs that are up for sale.”

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