Joe Kinnear was most recently the Director of Football at Newcastle United.

The former Tottenham and Republic of Ireland full back forged a reputation for fighting adversity at Wimbleon (now MK Dons) and Luton.

He then displayed similar characteristics in returning to the game after suffering a mild heart attack in 1999.

As a player at White Hart Lane, Kinnear won four major trophies - the FA Cup, two League Cups and the UEFA Cup - before linking up with Spurs team-mate Dave Mackay as a managerial duo with clubs in the United Arab Emirates.

After a further spell working with Mackay at Doncaster Rovers, Joe took charge at Wimbledon in 1992. He guided the club to a highest-ever finish of sixth in the Premiership two years later as the Dons continued to over-achieve spectacularly on gates of under 10,000.

Under Kinnear - who developed players like Neil Sullivan, Jason Euell and Robbie Earle - Wimbledon finished ninth the following season and eighth in 1997 when they also reached the semi-finals of both domestic cup competitions.

He was reported to have turned down the chance of succeeding Jack Charlton with the Republic of Ireland in 1996 and, after leaving Wimbledon in the wake of his illness, was linked with Sheffield Wednesday, Derby and Celtic.

Kinnear was fleetingly director of football at Oxford before taking charge of a relegation-threatened Luton who were facing a drop from the third tier. He kept them up initially and although relegation did follow, he delivered promotion in 2002 against a backdrop of severe financial and political problems.

With Nottingham Forest in 2004, Kinnear successfully battled the threat of relegation in his opening months in the job but departed midway through his first full season.

He was out of the game for almost four years but re-emerged as the surprise choice of caretaker boss at Newcastle where owner Mike Ashley was trying to sell his controlling stake. Kinnear confronted the challenge in typically pugnacious style to secure the job on a more permanent footing.

Joe later returned to the club in 2013 prior to the start of the 13/14 season as Director of Football.