That aside, it is good to see they have a lot of respect for each other and hopefully Keane will accept the professional handshake of Keegan after the 90minute whistle tomorrow when Newcastle have secured three points.

Keegan said of Keane:

"Roy has done a fantastic job - and I said that way before I came back here to manage Newcastle again. He is a big character and he has got the immediate respect of players because he is not asking them to do anything he has not done on a football pitch.

He has done as well as I did when I first came into management as a rookie here, because the Premier League has changed. He could not do with Sunderland what I did with Newcastle all those years ago because the top four clubs now and the finances available to a lot of the others mean you just cannot make that leap from the division below into the top half of the Premier League so easily.

What he has achieved is comparable to what I achieved. It doesn't look as good, but in reality, the goalposts have been moved so far that it is a major achievement. Once you stabilize a club like Sunderland coming up from the other division, then you can start to look at taking it to the next stage, and that's what they will be looking to do."

Keane said of Keegan:

"I was delighted to see him come back in, absolutely delighted.

You see a lot of people in football, and a lot of people are maybe even losing their love for the game.

I watched a reserve game the other night and it was absolutely shocking, just people going through the motions.

What shouldn't be underestimated, and I am not being disrespectful, is Kevin's enthusiasm.

It is absolutely brilliant and I love that. It was only a matter of time before they started getting back to winning ways.

Football needs people like Kevin Keegan, trust me.

Any manager will tell you, it takes time. But unfortunately, managers do not get that time.

Everyone needs to be patient and we are seeing that now even with Kevin Keegan. He has still only been back two minutes.

But what Kevin Keegan has got, he has got great enthusiasm for the game and that is a vital component for any manager.

The game can become very robotic, but what you see with Kevin is that he loves the game and that is rubbing off on his players.

The players, particularly over the last few of weeks, seem to have been playing with great freedom and they seem to be really enjoying the game.

If you want to be at the top, top level, you have got to enjoy being a footballer and you have got to enjoy the so-called pressures of the game.

That's why you have seen Newcastle playing so well over the last few weeks."

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