Keegan Dampens Summer Spending Hopes

Kevin Keegan has admitted he simply does not know how much money he will have to spend at St James' Park this summer. The Newcastle manager conceded in the wake of yesterday's 2-0 home defeat by Chelsea that he could not be given enough cash to close the gap on the Premier League's top four in the short term, seemingly resigning his side to fighting at best for fifth place next season.

That has been interpreted in some quarters as a challenge to the Newcastle owner Mike Ashley to put his hand in his pocket, while it is yet to be seen just how the relationship between the manager and the recruitment set-up headed by Dennis Wise will work.

But while Keegan insists he will be backed by Ashley and chairman Chris Mort, he is yet to be told what his budget might be. "I have not been told," he admitted. "I don't know what is here if I am honest. That's not a problem. We will just have to wait and see.

"You really need to be talking to Chris Mort and whoever has just been appointed [deputy chairman Derek Llambias] or Dennis Wise about the finances for this football club. It's not my job and I have never been involved in it. I cannot help you on that other than saying my job is to ask [vice-president (player recruitment)] Tony Jimenez to go and get players.

"But I am saying that whatever finance will be there, it will not be enough to take us into the top four." Ashley has invested in excess of £100m in the club since completing his £134.4m takeover, launched almost a year ago.

Speaking after receiving the plaudits of the club's fans for the recovery he has engineered in recent weeks, Keegan added: "With that comes a major responsibility, and that major responsibility is to be realistic with them and tell them I am not going to get enough money to make major changes at this football club.

"Major changes take massive finance, and it is not massive finance. If someone said there would be £40m or £50m, it still would not be enough to get you from where we are."

Keegan has already started to clear the decks for his summer spending and has revealed that full-back Stephen Carr, central defender Peter Ramage and Australian youngster James Troisi will all leave the club when they reach the end of their current contracts this summer.

Former Tottenham player Carr, 31, and 19-year-old Troisi were not offered new deals, while Ramage, 24, was, but decided his chances would be limited at St James' Park. Carr has been linked with Everton and West Ham, while Ramage is thought to be a target for several Championship clubs including Wolves.

Meanwhile, Keegan has confirmed that striker Mark Viduka will not play in the final game of the season at Everton on Sunday, and will this week have a planned injection to address his Achilles problem.