Kevin Keegan is confident Eddie Howe is ready to upset the Premier League's top-four establishment.
Not since the days of the Entertainers have the Magpies come close to a second place finish but victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday will put them within swinging distance of such a feat. Keegan guided Newcastle the runners-up spot in 1996 before United followed up with another second place a year later, albeit with Kenny Dalglish by then in charge of the team Keegan built.
However, just as Newcastle were about to push on and become regular top-four contenders, Keegan left the club for political reasons. Sir Bobby Robson guided Newcastle to three top-five finishes during his stint as boss, but it has taken until Howe's time for the club to get back to where many believe they should be.
Keegan has heaped praise on Howe and speaking in an in-depth interview with former Fleet Street journalist Graham Nickless, Keegan said: "I think with Eddie he gets it. He's doing all the right things. Yes, he needs a bit of luck with injuries, and yes, it will take a little bit of time, because don't forget in England now the top four clubs have really had it to themselves.
"There has been a lot of the FFP stuff going on around them. We all half-understand and don't understand it in some cases. The next four or five years will win some things, and that would be an incredible thing. I am a massive fan, having met him."
Opening up on why Howe has been such a hit with supporters, Keegan feels it has been down to the head coach's rapport with fans - something he managed to achieve with aplomb in the 1990s.
Keegan said: "I know he is genuine, he's got good stats. I know the fans feel the same way, I do a lot of functions up there, and when I am going around, they say: 'I met Eddie Howe, what a great guy'.
"He gets it. He's not from up there and didn't have the advantage I had. My father was a Geordie, and I started off and I played for the club. I started off running, he had to start off jogging, learning about it, but he's a bright guy, I have maximum respect for him as a manager and as a person."
Graham’s audiobook “Cheers to 50 years…On The Sporting Frontline” is now available on Amazon, Spotify and Audible. The book will be released next month.