BARTON STILL SET FOR EXIT.

JOEY BARTON has been told his Newcastle return is just a stay of execution after the bad-boy midfielder joined team-mates for the start of preseason training yesterday.

The former jailbird was banned by Alan Shearer in May following a furious dressing-room bust-up after his red card at Liverpool ruled him out of Toon's doomed relegation fight.

But with Shearer forced to endure a frustrating delay as Mike Ashley's pounds 100million sale bid drags on, Barton was back at Newcastle's Benton training base.

Shearer remains the preferred managerial option for the three groups leading the bidding to buy-out Ashley.

And one of the 38-year-old''s first tasks will be to offload pounds 60,000-a-week Barton for a cut-price pounds 2.5m to either Blackburn or Bolton.

Peter Lovenkrands is set to join Wigan after being axed by post. A spokesman for the player said: "He received a letter telling him not to turn up for pre-season training. He's devastated and upset."

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HE'S BACK Barton (right)