The Newcastle United manager Joe Kinnear hopes to return to work next month after falling ill in February and undergoing heart surgery. The 62-year-old, who suffered a heart attack that forced him to quit as Wimbledon manager in 1999, felt unwell before Newcastle's 3-2 win at West Bromwich Albion last month and was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. He then underwent a triple heart bypass and is now recovering after being fitted with a pacemaker.

"It was a serious operation," said Kinnear. "It has not been easy coming back but I am getting stronger on my feet every day. I've still got 80 stitches inside my chest so they have to come out before I can get back to work. Oh, and an amazing scar that goes from my neck down to my toes.

"They had to saw into my chest, take arteries out of one of my legs and deflate and reflate my lungs. But I don't feel bitter – just annoyed and frustrated I am sat here watching endless tapes of matches when I would rather be out there helping my club.

"The doctors say you should have 10 weeks' rest after the operation and I've had to be patient and started with 10-minute walks. But now I'm bombing around the park for half an hour at a time. If all goes to plan and I continue to make the same progress, I'm assuming the specialist will give me the okay and it will be all-clear for the Tottenham game on 18 April."

Newcastle have not been able to pull away from the bottom of the Premier League table in Kinnear's absence and face a fight to preserve their top-flight status. But Kinnear is confident they can survive, and is still hoping to be the club's manager next season. "We'll be safe if we win our home games," said Kinnear. "It looks like a big name could go down but it's in our hands."

Referring to the possibility of signing a new contract, he told The Sun: "The big decision time will be in the summer. First I need to keep Newcastle up and know I am going to be fit enough for the job going forward."