A FURIOUS Freddy Shepherd last night branded John Barnwell a "disgrace" because of the League Managers' Association's refusal to back Glenn Roeder's candidature for the Newcastle job, writes Scott Wilson.

Roeder was officially unveiled at St James' Park yesterday to end a three-month saga over whether he possessed the requisite qualifications to manage in the top-flight.

Initially, the Premier League had blocked Shepherd's attempts to install the 50-year-old as Graeme Souness' permanent successor, because a brain tumour had prevented him completing his UEFA 'Pro Licence'.

Eventually, a majority of Premier League chairmen overthrew the ruling, but not before the LMA had publicly urged them to block Roeder's appointment.

Newcastle-born Barnwell, who played as an amateur for Bishop Auckland, claimed that waiving the rules effectively opened the door to "the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker".

But Shepherd responded to the chief executive's comments by launching an angry broadside at an organisation that has repeatedly failed to support one of its former members.

"I think it's a disgrace he's said that and shame on him," said the Newcastle chairman. "The League Managers' Association is a union, and for a union leader to try to stop someone getting a job, I find it incredible that he should go to these lengths. I am very, very disappointed.

"He's an old neighbour of mine when we were kids. I can't believe this guy has said that."

Shepherd also directed his fury at other Premiership managers, believed to be Bolton's Sam Allardyce and Wigan's Paul Jewell, who had also questioned the wisdom of Roeder's appointment.

"I'm very disappointed at them," he added. "Throughout the search for the right man, we have kept a dignified silence, but I feel today enough is enough.

"It's a bit rich that some of the ones that have been making the most noise are the ones that Newcastle turned down for the Newcastle United job. You can see how upset I am with these guys."

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