Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear has revealed how he tried to sell Geremi just a day before he started the 2-1 defeat against Manchester City.

Kinnear is keen to sell in order to strengthen his squad and the Cameroon international was on the verge of leaving St James' Park for £4 million.

"I tried to sell Geremi yesterday because I thought it would raise £4million but that deal fell through so I had to play him tonight.

"We have been negotiating with someone else on the continent. We thought that deal was done but suddenly the goal posts have moved."

With news of Joey Barton and Michael Owen's long injury lay offs, Kinnear is desperate to bring in players in order to save his team from relegation but admits times are tough at St James Park with the credit crunch having a huge influence on potential transfers.

"It is a very difficult situation at the moment. It is not a surprise that a lot of other people did not have the bottle to do this job."

Kinnear looks set to gain at least £10million from the sale of Shay Given and both Charles N'Zogbia and Alan Smith have both been linked with moves away from St James Park to raise cash for new signings.