Newcastle United fans celebrate the return of Kevin Keegan

Keegan, or "King Kevin" as he is known in the north-eastern city, is a hero twice over in Newcastle, having played for and managed the team successfully in the past.

As a player for the Magpies 喜鵲 （紐卡斯?fàn)栮?duì)的綽號(hào)） in the early 80s, Keegan scored 48 goals, helping Newcastle to promotion from the second division. He retired as a player in 1984 but returned eight years later to manage the club for five seasons 賽季.

New manager Geordie messiah to be unveiled as new United manager.   Newcastle United Website

Keegan led Newcastle to within an inch of 離勝利一步之遙 winning
the Premier League in 1996, only to be pipped at the post 最后一刻被擊敗 by Manchester United.

Nobody expected Keegan to return to football management, having retired in 2005 after disappointing spells managing England and Manchester City.

But the "Toon Army", Newcastle United’s fanatical supporters 狂熱的球迷, are overjoyed 欣喜若狂 by the return of the man they call King.

Such is Keegan’s status with the team and fans that the Newcastle United website announced his return with the message: "Geordie messiah 蘇格蘭救星 to be unveiled 亮相 as new United manager", meaning that Keegan had been sent to save them.

And things do indeed seem to be on the up 蒸蒸日上.

The future        Alan Shearer is going to manage this football club one day, that's for sure. It's the same as when I left here. I knew I would come back as manager if I wanted to.  Kevin Keegan, Newcastle United manager

Newcastle have played twice since Keegan’s appointment, giving Stoke City a 4-1 thrashing 慘敗 in the FA Cup on Wednesday and holding Bolton to a goalless draw 沒(méi)有進(jìn)球的平局 in Saturday’s Premier League game.

However, all eyes are waiting to see how Keegan will cope with the immense pressure 巨大的壓力 of getting results from a sub-strength team with some of the most demanding 要求高的，苛求的 fans in the world.

Keegan famously cracked 發(fā)脾氣 in 1996，resulting in a wild-eyed rant 生氣的大聲地說(shuō)話 on live television against Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.

Will he be able to cope with the demands of the Premier League, which has already seen eight managers sacked 被炒魷魚(yú) this season?

What's the job?  We didn't get into specific roles but I'll sit down with him at the end of the week and we'll discuss it and see what's best for everyone.   Alan Shearer, ex-Newcastle player

Even Keegan himself seems to feel that the long-term future 長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)的未來(lái) of the club may lie with another local legend, Alan Shearer, who was himself signed as a player by Keegan in the 90s.

"Alan Shearer is going to manage this football club one day," Keegan told reporters.

But in the meantime Shearer looks set for a job with Keegan’s backroom staff 幕后智囊團(tuán)成員.

Shearer spoke to Keegan by phone this week but has yet to reveal exactly what his job will be at Newcastle.

"We didn't get into specific roles 特殊角色 but I'll sit down with him at the end of the week and we'll discuss it," said Shearer.