Kinnear blames referee again

Joe Kinnear is likely to find himself in even more trouble with the Football Association over yet another outburst against a referee he believes is biased against his unfashionable team.

Already facing a double charge of misconduct - probably at the end of this month - for openly criticising the Birmingham official Mike Reed and Darlington's Robbie Hart, there seemed no chancethat Kinnear would apologise for his latest blast.

The target this time was the Bury St Edmunds referee, Kelvin Morton, who disallowed two Wimbledon "goals'' in Monday night's 1-1 Selhurst Park draw withChelsea.

"I'm getting sick and tired of this because it is happening year in year out and it is just because we are Wimbledon," fumed Kinnear, who relaxed a self-imposed touchline ban to stand near the dug-out against Chelsea.

He claimed he did not speak to Morton."I am in enough trouble already." he said. "These decisions have cost us 15 points this season and it is getting very hard for me to take."

Despite last night's draw, Chelsea, the European Cup-Winners' Cup semi- finalists, have won just two of their last 18 League games. Their next three - allin the next six days - could decide their Premiership future.

Hoddle saw his team fight to contain Wimbledon's second-half bombardment, allowing only a Jon Goodman equaliser in reply to Frank Sinclair's first- half strike, and said: "Now we've got to show the same sort of spirit in two home games - against Southampton today and Aston Villa on Saturday.

"It would certainly be a great time to start a good run, but I shouldn't need to motivate the players. One look at the League table should do that."

Chelsea went ahead after 37 minutes, when the Danish defender, Jakob Kjeldbjerg, playing his first game since January, headed on Craig Burley's corner to find Sinclair unmarked. The centre-back drove in a shot which the Wimbledon goalkeeper, Neil Sullivan, could only help into the net.

Wimbledon picked up the pace again in the second half but could not add to Goodman's 57th-minute headed equaliser.

Hoddle later denied his club's involvement in Europe has distracted them from their survival task. He said: "That has all been a bonus because nobody expected us to get so far in the Cup-Winners' Cup.

"We are three goals behind in a semi-final with the home leg to come, and we don't consider that a lost cause yet."