Joe Kinnear insists Shola Ameobi can have a bright future at Newcastle United Football Club.

The striker was left on the bench for the trip to Chelsea on Saturday as Michael Owen made his return to the Magpies line-up, and Mark Viduka is also now back to full fitness.

And with Obafemi Martins also in contention it would appear that Ameobi will have to settle for being fourth choice at St James Park, but Kinnear doesn’t see it like that.

“When I took Shola to one side on Saturday morning in a little one-to-one chat and told him he was on the bench, he could not have taken it better,” he told The Chronicle.

"Obviously he was disappointed, but he told me he understood my decision, and that he was part of the squad and that it was the team which mattered most.

"I feel we have a good balance with our men up-front. We have Oba's pace, Michael's technical ability as a goal scorer and the power of Viduka and Ameobi."

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