Keegan survives crisis talks

A LENGTHY meeting in London involving Newcastle's manager Kevin Keegan, Mike Ashley and Dennis Wise concluded with civil handshakes rather than final farewells.

Keegan had been summoned to the Fleet Street offices of the international law firm Freshfields - where Chris Mort, Newcastle's chairman remains a partner on indefinite leave of absence - by Ashley, the club's owner, after making some provocative comments on Monday.

While Newcastle's manager had made it clear he would not resign there were suggestions that he could possibly be sacked but, instead, Keegan, who is believed to have offered Ashley an apology, emerged still in charge and with a truce negotiated.

"It was a good meeting. It was both productive and constructive," said Mort who, along with Derek Llambias, Newcastle's vice-chairman and Tony Jiminez, the club's vice president (player recruitment), was also in attendance for the 11am start.

Nonetheless it is understood that there were flashpoints and moments of real tension between Ashley, Wise and Keegan and that Mort's renowned diplomatic skills proved essential to procuring a satisfactory outcome.

With the chairman required to act as peacemaker, the discussions went on far longer than originally envisaged and by 4pm Wise - Newcastle's executive director of football whose working relationship with Keegan has become strained in recent weeks when they have appeared to be engaged in something of a turf war over their respective spheres of authority - had still to turn up at his annual charity golf event in Ealing.

Indeed it seemed a busy day for the former Leeds manager. Wise is primarily responsible for buying players at Newcastle and according to reports in Portugal the club yesterday lodged a £15 million bid for Miguel Veloso with Sporting Lisbon.

The Portugal defensive midfielder was recently watched, and admired, by Keegan at Ibrox when they played Rangers in the Uefa Cup but with Sporting wanting £23m and Veloso also attracting interest from rival clubs, completing a deal will be far from straightforward.

Ashley was reportedly angered by not only his manager's sarcastic assertion that their relationship was good because they never spoke, but Keegan's public annoyance about the board's failure to get round to offering the striker Michael Owen a contract extension or even let the former England coach know how much money would be available to spend on players this summer.

Now sensitive topics including transfer targets, funding and the division of club duties are said to have been "mapped out" for Keegan who will have been relieved to learn that Jiminez was due to attend a subsequent meeting in London with Leon Angel, the agent of Newcastle's Steven Taylor, to discuss a contract extension. Keegan has spent several weeks persuading his board to open such negotiations. Guardian Service