Eddie Howe has received the Kevin Keegan seal of approval as the Newcastle boss attempts to secure the club’s first trophy since 1969.
Keegan, back in the city he lit up first as a player and then as a manager of the ‘Entertainers’ which went close to winning the Premier League in the '90s, believes his old club is in good hands on and off the pitch. With the Tyne Theatre and Opera House packed to the rafters, Keegan entertained again delving into the past but focussing very much on the present.
“When I look at Newcastle, I feel you have a manager who understands what Newcastle United is all about,” he said. “The people who own the club now are doing things the right way. For the recruitment, they have got the guy from Brighton, Dan Ashworth. Look at what he did there and what is still going on there.
“The owners might not know a lot about football but they are doing things right. It’s not a problem, neither did Sir John Hall (Keegan’s chairman) know a lot about football. It’s important you invest in the right people.
“I spoke to two of the owners after they had just taken over. They also went to see Alan Shearer. I was very impressed with them and I’ve been very impressed with Eddie Howe.
“He rang me up at the time and left a message. I got in touch and he asked me what advice would I give him? The one thing I said was to be honest with the supporters. If you are open and up front with them, he would be fine.”
After 15 months in charge, it’s very much Eddie Howe’s black and white army as the Toon prepare to face Manchester United in the EFL Cup final at the end of the month.
Keegan added: “I think they have a great chance in the final. I honestly think if I had the choice of managing one of the two teams with everyone fit, it would be Newcastle. It’s not as if this Manchester United is like the one that beat us to the league. It hasn’t got David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Eric Cantona in it.”
Keegan still retains the image of Cantona waiting for him at the top of the tunnel after Newcastle had extracted some revenge for being pipped by United to the title by crushing Alex Ferguson’s side 5-0 the next season on Tyneside.
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“Eric was there in his underpants. I thought, 'he’s not going to hit me, is he?'. He just put his hand out and congratulated me before he went off to the dressing room.” Keegan explained.
Although he still hasn’t been back to St James’ Park after calling time on an eventful eight months as manager under the ownership of Mike Ashley in 2008, he can feel the good times are back.
He added: “After 13, 14 years of really no hope and not worth talking about, now you’ve got an era when you go wow, anything could happen. Just get one trophy because you have to go back to 1955 for the last domestic one. Once you win one, others can follow.
“They have a chance of getting some great players because they have money. It’s a club with an unbelievable atmosphere to play in front of.” But he can’t see the current owners following in the footsteps of Sir John Hall’s son Douglas, also a director in the Keegan years.
He smiled: “One day, Douglas went off to try and sign Roberto Baggio. He just went off to Italy in his private plane. He went to the Juventus office in Turin and said to the girl on the desk and he would like speak to someone. She asked what was it about? He replied, 'I’ve come to sign Baggio'.
“When he came back, he told me he couldn’t believe it. He was just left in reception. Can you imagine just turning up and saying you were going to sign Alan Shearer or Les Ferdinand? They were great times, though.”
And Keegan insists the good times are back under Howe and the current owners to a standing ovation.
