JOE Kinnear almost made the switch to League One side Swindon Town before Mike Ashley tied him down to a season- long contract at St James’ Park it has been revealed.

Until last week’s confirmation that he would remain in charge until the end of the current campaign, the Newcastle manager had made no secret of the fact that he would consider other roles if they became available.

While not in any hurry to leave Tyneside, the former Wimbledon boss was understandably keen to secure a position that offered more security than his month-to-month rolling contract at Newcastle.

News that Swindon Town, impressed by Kinnear’s efforts in steadying the Magpies’ ship, were keen to secure the 61-year-old’s services may have forced Ashley’s hand.

He moved swiftly to offer Kinnear a six month deal, worth a reported £600,000, to remain in charge at the club.

After dispensing with the services of Maurice Malpas, following a poor run of results, Swindon Town chairman Andrew Fitton announced that he was lining up contenders for the manager’s position that were of such a high calibre they would “blow people’s socks off.”

And Kinnear is believed to have been a leading candidate to take over at The County Ground.

Instead, his new deal now enables Kinnear to focus his efforts on identifying the club’s January transfer targets with a brace of Dutch stars topping his wanted list.

Ajax’s 22-year-old left-back Urby Emanuelson, who can also operate in a left midfield berth, and experienced leftback Tim de Cler of Feyenoord are potential targets.

Emanuelson is a product of the renowned Ajax footballing academy and starred in the Dutch side who won the UEFA U21 tournament in 2006. He has gone on to earn 11 full international caps and is the Ajax first choice left-back.

de Cler, 30, played in the 2006 World Cup and at last year’s European Championships.

Kinnear is known to be keen to strengthen the left side of his squad and either of the Dutch players would be ideal replacements for Charles N’Zogbia who continues to be linked with a move out of St James’ Park.

The Magpies boss revealed that his main targets ply their trade in the Dutch Eredivisie, and confirmed: “They are all playing in Holland and I believe that whoever I have identified will be better than we have got.

“The players we are looking at now have got to be proven.

We don’t want to chance our arm with maybes.”

Kinnear’s appointment on a longer-term basis has met the approval of fit-again Mark Viduka who was pleased to see some stability returning to the backroom set-up.

“It’s a great thing for all people concerned with the football side of the club because we know what is going on,” said the former Boro striker who made a surprise return to first team action in Saturday’s Tees-Tyne encounter.

“It’s a great thing for us, a bit of stability. Joe is a nice guy. To be honest, I have just started to get to know him and hopefully he can push us forward.’’ Viduka was delighted with his return to action after his Achilles injury sidelined him for six months.

“It’s a busy time for us during December but hopefully I can play as much as possible and start scoring and creating goals again because that is my job in the team,” confirmed the burly striker who was roundly booed by the home crowd at the Riverside.

“It was nice to hear our fans getting behind me I can understand the Boro fans betting a bit upset. But the Geordie fans to me are unbelievable.

“During this time that I have been out people have been so supportive of me and I’d like to thank them.”