Former Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan delivered one of the most iconic moments on live television and in Premier League history 24 years ago today.
In 1996, Newcastle were close to ending a 66-year drought from when the club last won a major trophy, following their 1-0 win over Leeds. Newcastle had then entered a fierce title race with Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United.
The race went to the wire, with Keegan's team recording 24 wins that season, one less victory than United however. Prior to Newcastle taking on Leeds, United had beat the Whites a week earlier.
Ferguson claimed that the Leeds players had been "cheating" their manager by raising their game against the league leaders, as they sat in the bottom half of the Premier League table, before he said 'you wait and see the difference' when they play Newcastle.
His comments implying Leeds' performance levels would drop significantly against Newcastle did not go down well with Keegan. The Magpies boss came out in defence of his team during his post-match interview on Sky Sports after the win over Leeds by the same scoreline.
He said: "A lot of things have been said over the last few days, some of it almost slanderous, but we’ve never commented, we’ve just gone on working. I think things have been said, I think you’ve got to send Alex Ferguson a tape of this game haven’t you? Isn’t that what he asked for?
HAVE YOUR SAY!! What did you make of Kevin Keegan's rant? Let us know in the comments below...
"We’re playing Notts Forest on Thursday and he objected to that - it was fixed up four months ago. We’re bigger than that. When you do that with footballers like he said about Leeds, and when you do things like that about a man like Stuart Pearce, I’ve kept really quiet but I’ll tell you something - he went down in my estimation when he said that. We have not resorted to that.
"I'll tell you, and tell him that I'll be watching it and we're still fighting for this title. And he's [Alex Ferguson] got to go to Middlesbrough and get something, and I'll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them. Love it!"
Ultimately, it wasn't the fairytale Keegan was wishing for, as United thrived under the pressure. In their visit to Boro, they won 3-0 and wrapped up the title, finishing the league four points clear of the Magpies. Since then, Newcastle have never come any closer to winning the Premier League again.
