Ex-Newcastle United chairman Freddy Shepherd says a director of football can work at St James' Park - though not in the form of Joe Kinnear.

During Shepherd's time as chairman and Robson's as manager, Newcastle had a director of football in former Leicester and Coventry manager Gordon Milne but he kept himself in the background.

"He wasn't a director of football in the truest sense of the word, more a close confidant of Bobby's and a sounding board," said Shepherd to the Daily Star.

"Even so, he was always in the background and that's how it should be. It's for the manager to be the public face of a football club, not a director of football."