Plunge on sack-race favourite Pardew

ALAN PARDEW is in the unwanted position of being the Premier League’s sack-race favourite as punters latch on to the belief that Joe Kinnear’s return to the club as director of football is terrible news for the current Newcastle manager.

Kinnear claims Pardew was delighted with the seemingly strange appointment but that is not reflected in the odds.

Pardew, who was 14-1 when betting first opened up on the next top-flight gaffer to leave his current position, has been backed at all rates down to 2-1 with Ladbrokes. Paddy Power offer the same price, with Swansea’s Michael Laudrup out to 3-1.

Hills make Pardew 10-1 not to start the 2013-14 campaign on Tyneside and the bad news for the Magpies chief is that Power rate Kinnear 1-4 to outlast the manager with the new director of football 8-1 to have left Newcastle before 2014.

Owner Mike Ashley has presumably appointed Kinnear to make sure there is no repeat of the relegation battle which dogged the club in 2012-13, although Betfred and BetVictor both cut Newcastle yesterday to drop down to the Championship leaving Power alone in offering 14-1.

Newcastle finished a lowly 16th in the last campaign and Betfred pushed them out to 11-8 for a top-ten end to next season with a place in the top six out to 12-1 on the back of Kinnear’s arrival.

There is at least some good news for United’s upset supporters – Hills make them 8-15 favourites to finish above enemies Sunderland – but that probably says more about the Black Cats.

Pardew has not publicly commented on Kinnear’s arrival and the club have not made the decision formal but BetVictor believe one man is in pole position to take over as manager should the current boss be given his marching orders.

Kinnear was initially installed as even-money favourite to be Newcastle’s next manager and, even though that price later drifted to 2-1, he remains the market leader when the job next becomes vacant.