Kevin Keegan faced the massed ranks of the media for the first time after his sensational return.
Returning Magpies manager's first press conference
Kevin Keegan faced the massed ranks of the media for the first time on Friday after his sensational return to St James' Park.
Almost 11 years after his first spell at the club came to an end, Keegan was back in the place he regards as 'home', setting out his plans for the future.
The key points from Keegan's press conference:
Why he is the right man for the job
"I know the club, I know it inside out and back to front. I know it as a player and I know it as a manager. I know what it's like in terms of what the fans want. I don't have to come up and learn all those things.
"This is a very special club, this is not just a normal football club, that's what people outside this area don't understand. When you've been here and you've lived around, on two occasions like I have, I think I'm the best qualified person to come here and do this job. I've got my chance to show the fans that I can.
"I think I'm pretty well qualified to come and take this challenge on. Whoever would have been sat here, and it could have been lots of people, there's nobody you could have been talking to today announced as manager who knows this club better than I do.
"This club doesn't scare me, the job doesn't scare me at all."
On Alan Shearer as a possible No.2:
"I want to bring the very best to Newcastle United. If there's a role that Alan wants, and that is right - and that's the key - I would love to have him back here. I will definitely talk to him."
On Michael Owen and his autobiography:
"He's entitled to his opinion. I'm looking forward to working with him, I don't have a problem with that.
"I don't think Michael Owen would have come here if he didn't think it was a big club. He's a big player, he's a great player, with a great record as a goalscorer."
His style of play:
"The fans would like to win something. When they've worked all week, the match for them, it's a bit like the people down south going to the theatre.
"They're going to be entertained. They're coming to this ground and they want to see something that's worth seeing, they want to enjoy it.
"What they don't want is for us to go out and drably play, maybe win 1-0 and finish halfway up the table. They want us to have a go, that's why I'm here. We will have a go.
"It is possible to win something here, it is possible to win a cup, it is possible for this club to break into the top four. Not overnight, but it is possible.
"I believe we can do it. With these players that we've got, with the backing we've got and with these fans, we can do it again.
January transfer plans:
"We are a club who can go and get big players, if they are the right players. We will be trying to fetch two or three players in, but we will not fetch them in just to make the numbers up.
"They will be players who can play with what we've got and improve what we've got."
When he was first approached:
"I had first contact last Thursday and I decided then I would like to meet the owner. He was abroad and I was waiting for him to come back. That was Wednesday, I drove down from Glasgow. We met up at 11 o'clock... within three hours the deal was done and we were just trying to get through the London traffic to get back up here."
Being out of the game for three years:
"The game is pretty much the same. I've been out of the game for three years. It's nothing. Sometimes that's a help, rather than a hindrance. Just to get away from it and see the game from a little bit of a distance. I think it's helped me, definitely."
On Joey Barton's recent off-field troubles:
"He is a Newcastle United player and I will support him 100 per cent. I will help him any way I can, and as he's openly said he needs help. The best people who can help him are the people who know him, and we know him. He is an excellent player and he can improve.
"He's had some little problems. I told him yesterday, he's got my full support. I've given it to him before and he's let me down, but he's got it again. I'm convinced now, having spoken to him yesterday, is that all he wants to do is come and play for this football club."
