JOE KINNEAR’S reign as Newcastle United manager suffered another set back yesterday when two of his own players came to blows in an amazing training ground bust-up.

Unsettled French midfielder Charles N’Zogbia and the locally produced Andy Carroll had to be separated as a practice session boiled over when the Gateshead-born striker clattered into the winger.

Eye-witnesses claim that fists flew before the pair were pulled apart.

The fracas will do little to improve morale inside the Newcastle dressing room at a time when fans have started to turn on Kinnear for winning just four of his matches.

The clash between N’Zogbia and Carroll has been described as ‘handbags’ and as a ‘minor incident’ by sources.

But the fact two of Kinnear’s players had such a training ground row highlights the tension within the club.

Kinnear could have done without the unsavoury incident, especially as it happened so soon after the Football Association charged him for last week’s touchline feud with Hull City’s Phil Brown.

Kinnear faces a hefty rap from the Football Association that could see the outspoken manager sitting in the stands for at least three of Newcastle United’s crucial fixtures in the battle to beat the drop.

The FA have given Kinnear and Brown until February 3 to respond to a charge of improper conduct following their touchline altercation during the FA Cup third round replay seven days ago.

It is the latest in a growing list of misdemeanours by the Newcastle manager, and Soho Square sources claim the FA are ready to come down hard on him.

Kinnear’s request for a personal hearing relating to two other pending cases should be heard before the end of this month, with the FA becoming increasingly frustrated with the 62-year-old’s disciplinary record since making his return to management.

With the prospect of Kinnear being handed at least a three-match touchline ban and a substantial fine for his latest run-in with the English game’s governing body, Newcastle’s fight against relegation will suffer a further knock.

If found guilty, there is every chance that he will be forced to sit in the stands for crucial fixtures at bottom club West Brom, at home to Everton and the trip to Bolton.

Those league games come immediately before a run of matches that will see Newcastle face Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea within the four fixtures immediately after Bolton.

He was warned about his future conduct after a foulmouthed rant towards the press in early October, and the following month he was charged by the FA for branding match official Martin Atkinson as a ‘Mickey Mouse referee’, despite issuing an apology a couple of days later.

He was then sent to the stands by referee Mike Riley at the end of a game at Stoke and was subsequently charged, with hearings for those incidents due in the next couple of weeks.

And his pitchside dispute with Brown last week has further angered the FA, despite Kinnear’s insistence that his opposite number was the instigator in the whole furore.

Now Carroll and N’Zogbia’s scrap has added to Kinnear’s problems, given how he seems to be no nearer to acquiring suitable players this month to boost his threadbare, injury-hit squad.

He was boosted by the return to action of Steven Taylor and Joey Barton in a behind- closed-doors friendly with Carlisle yesterday, but was again forced to leave out Alan Smith because he didn’t feel right.

His non-appearance in the 1-1 draw, with Taylor finding the net for Newcastle, is a nuisance for Kinnear, who hopes to recall the former Leeds man to Premier League action within the next fortnight.

The appearance of Geremi at the Benton training headquarters, meanwhile, is a further indication the Cameroon international is reluctant to turn his back on England to join Turkish side Besiktas.

Danish winger Peter Lovenkrands was one of a number of trialists to figure in yesterday’s friendly that took place just yards from N’Zogbia and Carroll’s bust-