Enlarge imageLONDON (Reuters) - Newcastle United hit back on Saturday at Kevin Keegan’s criticism of the club following his shock resignation as manager this week.
Keegan, who quit on Thursday less than eight months after returning for a second stint as manager, said he had left because he did not have control over the Premier League club’s transfer policy.
Fans have called for owner Mike Ashley and director of football Dennis Wise to resign but a hard-hitting statement on the club’s website (www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk) Newcastle said they had been given a misleading impression.
"It is a fact that Kevin Keegan, on appointment on January 16 2008, agreed to report to a director of football and the board," the statement said.
"It is a fact that Kevin Keegan worked within
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that structure from January 16 until his resignation."It is a fact that Kevin Keegan, as manager, had specific duties in that he was responsible for the training, coaching, selection and motivation of the team."
The statement also listed several other "facts" that it said were known to Keegan when he returned to the club in a blaze of publicity and said Keegan had agreed at the time not to deal with the media in relation to transfer dealings.
As the apparent bitterness between Keegan and the club’s hierarchy intensified, Keegan issued a response to Newcastle’s claims through the League Managers Association (LMA) who have offered him their support through the saga.
"At the time at which I joined Newcastle United Football Club it was made very clear to me that I would have the final say on player movement in and out of the club," Keegan said.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ed Osmond)
