Former Wimbledon and Newcastle United manager Joe Kinnear has died at the age of 77.
Kinnear, who also managed Luton and Nottingham Forest, was diagnosed with dementia in 2015.
His family said in a statement: “We are sad to announce that Joe passed away peacefully this afternoon surrounded by his family.”
Dublin-born Kinnear won 26 caps for the Republic of Ireland during his 11-year playing career.
He started his career with Tottenham and made 258 appearances for the club, scoring twice in 10 seasons in north London.
Kinnear won the FA Cup, the League Cup twice and the Uefa Cup at Spurs.
He joined Brighton in 1975, but retired after just one season on the south coast when a knee injury curtailed his career.
Kinnear’s first role in management was with India’s national side in 1983, before a stint with Nepal in 1987.
He returned to English football with Doncaster Rovers in March 1989 but left at the end of the season having won just once in 11 matches.
Kinnear’s next role came with Wimbledon two-and-a-half-years later and he would spend more than seven years in south-west London.
Inheriting the ‘Crazy Gang’ in January 1992, Kinnear guided Wimbledon to a sixth-place finish in his second full season in charge at the club, helping him to win the 1994 LMA Manager of the Year award.
He registered two further top-10 finishes in the Premier League, but suffered a heart attack in March 1999 that saw him step away from the club.
More to follow.
