The story of the Newcastle United player sent to tour opponents 1860 Munich

And when it was decided not to renew Joe Kendrick’s contract at the end of the 2002/03 season, that task fell to Tommy Craig, who was then the club’s reserve-team manager.

Kendrick, a left-back, had travelled to Tyneside from Dublin as a teenager after being scouted by the club. He went on to establish himself in Craig’s team – and he also regularly trained with Sir Bobby Robson’s first-team squad alongside the likes of Alan Shearer and Gary Speed.

And the next stage of his footballing journey took him to 1860 Munich, tomorrow’s pre-season opponents for Eddie Howe’s United side at the 1,500-capacity Saalfelden Arena in Austria.

Charlie Woods, Robson’s chief scout, recommended the move to Kendrick.

“The last reserve game of the season, I got pulled to one side by Tommy Craig, and he said my contract wouldn’t be renewed,” said Kendrick. “They really left it until the last minute to tell me. He said it was a tough decision, and some of the coaching staff wanted to keep me, and some were of the opinion that I needed to go and get some experience somewhere else.

“It was literally last minute. It was a bit of a shock, but in my last year, I thought I’d played well.

“I trained with the first team on a regular basis. Charlie Woods – who was the chief scout – just said ‘there’s a club in Germany that’s interested in you. I’ve recommended you, and they want you to go over and spend a couple of days there and have a look at the set-up’.

“He arranged everything with Bobby’s blessing. Spoke to Bobby at the ground. That’s how it came about.”

Kendrick trained through the summer in Ireland to be ready for the new challenge, and he was set to start the new Bundesliga season as the club’s first-choice left-back.

“I was a young person in a big city with a flat and a car, and I got a bit lost because of the language,” said Kendrick. “After about three weeks of pre-season training, I was probably in contention to start as first-choice left-back.

“I had a strong three weeks, and then broke my foot. I was out for about 12 weeks, and when I came back, my injury just wasn’t right.

“They put a metal rod in my fifth metatarsal. I had to get it moved again, and that put me out for another four or five weeks. I think it was more fatigue, as I’d played a lot of football. I trained loads that summer in Ireland, and didn’t have a break.”

Kendrick left the club, which was relegated that season, the following summer after injuries stopped him making a first-team appearance. The club hasn’t been back in the German top flight since then, though it has invested this summer.

“Great city, great club,” said Kendrick, who went on to play for a number of clubs, including Darlington, Torquay United, Mansfield Town and Blyth Spartans. “The fans are crazy. The real heart and soul of the city is the 1860 Munich fans. Whereas Bayern fans will come from afar.

“During the season we had three managers, and got relegated. They haven’t been back in the Bundesliga since, went down the leagues. They just missed out on promotion last year. This year they’ve invested a bit of money into the squad. It’ll be a good test for Newcastle.”

Kendrick, looking for his next coaching challenge in North East non-league football, feels “privileged” to have started out at Newcastle under Robson.

“You look back, and I was just really privileged to be there,” said the former Republic of Ireland Under-21 international. “He was a great manager. He always about the BBC Sports Personality award, ‘nobody wins that by themselves, even Tiger Woods had a caddy’. That’s what he was like. He had his team around him and all his coaches and scouts.

“He didn’t suffer fools. He was really good. He was a great man-manager – he got the best out of his players.

“There were brilliant characters at the club. Even Craig Bellamy, Kieran Dyer – people had their opinions of them, but training-wise, and playing, brilliant players.

“A lot of quiet guys in the squad as well – Andy O’Brien and Aaron Hughes, just really good guys. You learn loads, Gary Speed especially. Their professionalism was unbelievable.”

Kendrick has started out on his own coaching career. The 39-year-old guided Prudhoe Youth Club Seniors to a memorable promotion last season before stepping away to look for a new challenge.

“I always wanted to get involved in management and coaching,” said Kendrick. “The opportunity came to go up to Prudhoe in the Northern Alliance. I had a great two years there, over 70% win ratio, got them promoted to the Northern League Division Two.

“I parted ways at the end of the season on good terms, and had a really good couple of years there. I think you appreciate managers you played under now even more having managed, even at that level.

“The last two years have been really good, but I’m looking for another challenge, hopefully in a higher league. I spoke to the secretary in February and told him my intention, to hopefully get them promoted and move on.

“At Prudhoe, we didn’t spend any money on players, although there were teams around us who were spending money on players.

“We didn’t have any budget, but we set them up properly, with a proper shape and structure, and trained properly. The guys bought into what we were trying to do.”

And the lessons Kendrick – who now takes his young son to St James’s Park to watch Howe's side – learnt two decades ago under Sir Bobby at United are proving invaluable as he looks to move up the coaching ladder.