Keegan on the brink despite Toon denial
Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle future remains shrouded in doubt this morning after the club denied he had been sacked amid reports of a board room bust-up with owner Mike Ashley.
Fans demonstrated outside the gates of St James’s Park yesterday after rumours spread that Keegan’s second spell in charge was over after less than eight months.
It had been said that the sale of winger James Milner to Aston Villa last Friday had been brokered behind Keegan’s back, while deals plotting the exits of Michael Owen and Joey Barton were also allegedly discussed on Monday without the manager’s knowledge.
As news of Keegan’s unconfirmed departure swept through the town, supporters gathered outside the stadium in support of their hero, while also demanding the resignation of Ashley and director of football Dennis Wise. But in a statement released at 7pm last night, the club insisted Keegan had not been sacked and emphasised its desire to keep him as manager.
Despite that, fans fear for the future of their much-loved boss as nowhere in the carefully-worded statement does it deny that Keegan had walked away, while Keegan himself has remained silent throughout.
The statement read: “Newcastle United can confirm that meetings between members of the board and manager Kevin Keegan were held both yesterday and today. Kevin has raised a number of issues and those have been discussed with him.
The club wants to keep progressing with its long-term strategy and would like to stress that Kevin is extremely important, both now and in the future. Newcastle United values the effort and commitment shown by Kevin since his return to St James’ Park and wants him to continue to play an instrumental role as manager of the club. For the avoidance of doubt, the club has not sacked Kevin Keegan as manager.”
Keegan, 57, who hasn’t been seen since the statement was issued, had hoped to bring in three or four new faces with the £12m recouped from the Milner sale, but the only arrivals were Ignacio Gonzalez on a season long loan from Valencia, and striker Xisco from Deportivo for £5.7m.