Kinnear happy to keep exiled Owen

4:37pm Tuesday 7th October 2008

Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear has insisted England's loss will be Newcastle's gain after Michael Owen missed out on an international call-up.

The Magpies skipper was again overlooked by national boss Fabio Capello for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Belarus, and Kinnear is not expecting to have to raise the spirits of his £17million man.

"Michael is a very proud lad and he loves playing for his country, and he will be obviously disappointed at being left out," said Kinnear. "But he is a terrific professional and I know that there will be no need for me or any of my coaching staff to have to lift his morale up."

He added: "He is an experienced professional and he would not let any disappointment with England affect anything that he has to do with Newcastle United.

"Yes, I was surprised to hear Michael was not in the England squad. If you look at his goals record, it is probably better than some of those who are in the squad and in that respect, he is light-years ahead of them.

"Even if he had been on the bench for England in their World Cup games, he would have been a huge asset because he can assess the situation very well.

"In fact, I would go as far as the stake my life on Michael Owen, and I have to say that England's loss will be our gain.

"I only hope England do not lose any of these two games and people turn round and say leaving Michael Owen out was not the best thing to do."

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