Newcastle Claim Keegan Remains in Charge After He Misses Training Again

Despite a statement from Newcastle insisting that Kevin Keegan remains their manager, the chances of him remaining at St James' Park appeared to shrivel further this morning when he did not turn up for training for the second successive day.

Yesterday friends of the manager claimed he had been sacked, prompting hundreds of fans converged on the stadium to demonstrate their support for Keegan. In a surprising twist, the club then denied he had been dismissed and insisted it wanted him to "continue to play an instrumental role as manager of the club".

This morning Newcastle released a further statement insisting that Keegan and the board have been engaged in "ongoing discussions" about his future. It added: "Both the club and Kevin would like to reiterate that Kevin remains as manager. He has not resigned nor has he been sacked, as has been confirmed in respective statements made by Kevin and Newcastle United Football Club."

It is possible that the "ongoing discussions" are aimed at repairing the rift between owner Mike Ashley and Keegan, who has become increasingly exasperated over his lack of involvement in the club's transfer policy. However, sources believe the talks are more likely to be about finding a mutually acceptable way of parting company: it has been reported that if Keegan resigns he will be contractually obliged to pay £1m compensation to the club - whereas if he was sacked he will be entitled to some £8m compensation.

Earlier Richard Bevan, the chief executive of the League Managers' Association (LMA), this morning admitted that that Keegan "was in a difficult position" at St James' Park.

"He is in a difficult position but he has not resigned," he added. "I spoke to Kevin at length last night and he will be discussing really important issues with the Newcastle board over the next few days."