The 61-year-old Kinnear, who takes over from caretaker manager Chris Hughton on Monday, will stand or fall by Newcastle's results during a no-doubt handsome contract which runs until the end of next month. A major turnaround in Toon fortunes and he will be dubbed "King Kinnear", especially if he delivers three points on Wearside on October 25. But a succession of defeats could see the Dublin-born, London-bred former Wimbledon manager bracketed with executive director Dennis Wise and Ashley in the so-called "Cockney Mafia".

Wise, 41, is seen as the villain of the piece by Newcastle supporters because as executive director he reputedly had the final say, over the revered Keegan, on transfers. The former Leeds manager's myriad critics were quick to claim that the move for Kinnear was tantamount to a conspiracy, on the grounds that they were together during the "Crazy Gang" era at Wimbledon. In fact, the latter did not join the Dons until 1992, two years after Wise was transferred to Chelsea.

The hostility towards Wise, which began in January with his sudden transformation from a prickly presence in League One technical areas to an executive with ill-defined duties at Newcastle, is unlikely to subside. He could actually leave within the next week or fortnight, Kinnear having suggested that he expected Ashley's attempt to offload the club through investment bankers Seymour Pierce to reach a formal conclusion in early October.

Kinnear added that he "assumed from the new people" – who are reported to be a Nigerian consortium, although there is also interest from the United States and China – that Keegan and Alan Shearer would be asked to form a managerial duo. Whether the Geordie dream team can work together is another matter, yet Ashley's exit would surely render Wise's position untenable.

The surprise re-emergence of Kinnear, nearly four years after a bright start at Nottingham Forest fell away and cost him his most recent job, smacks of desperation, with the newcomer admitting the fans would be "disappointed". Newcastle were rejected last week by Wise's close friend Terry Venables, who last worked in the Premier League at Leeds five years ago.

Kinnear's break in management, after a career as a stylish left-back with Tottenham, came when he worked alongside former team-mate Dave Mackay, first in Dubai and then at Doncaster. At Wimbledon, where he was manager for seven years until he suffered a heart attack in 1999, he regularly delivered top-10 finishes for a club of comparatively slender resources who did not even have their own ground.

However, it was as a wheeler-dealer (with a gift for verbal gaffes that included a passionate critique of the "Bosnian ruling"), rather than as a tactician in the Venables mould, that he made his reputation. In keeping with the shambles that is Newcastle right now, that talent will not be utilised on their behalf since they cannot make any new signings until January.

By then, the danger is that the relegation trapdoor will be as big a talking point as the transfer window. Small wonder that supporters complain that the once-popular Ashley has turned the club he bought 16 months ago for £135m into a sinking ship.