Keegan will light up Owen's dark age, says Shearer

• More Newcastle news

The St James' Park dressing room may ultimately prove too confined a space for the big personalities of Keegan and Shearer but the legendary Newcastle No 9 has no doubt that Owen and the returning manager can set to one side any lingering animosity caused by the former Liverpool striker's criticism.

Scroll down for more

Of Keegan's time in charge of England, Owen wrote in his autobiography Off The Record: 'He seemed the complete package. But if it was for some players, it wasn't for me. Looking back on the Keegan era, one main feature stands out for me. It made me question my footballing ability for the first time in my life.'

An unsuccessful season at Real Madrid and a troubled two-and-a-half years on Tyneside may have further damaged Owen's self-belief, but Shearer is convinced Keegan can finally help him live up to his £17million price tag.

'I'm sure what he said in his autobiography will be brought up but they're adults,' said Shearer. 'Michael will love playing in a Kevin Keegan side because they are designed to go forward, get the ball into the box and score goals and there's very few better than Michael at putting the ball in the net.

'He has to stay fit but they probably haven't created a lot of chances for him while he's been there. That will change now.

'For a centre forward it's fantastic, dreamland. You know he's going to go with two attacking wingers, get balls into the box as he did for me and Les Ferdinand in the early days. They were great teams to play in.

'Keegan will walk into a room full of dull people and light the room up. That's the way he is, the way he connects with people. He has a buzz and a spark about him that not many people have.

'The place will be rocking on Saturday. There would have been 25,000 there against Stoke and then you saw the queue for the ticket office when it (Keegan's appointment) was announced. His personality and enthusiasm will get everyone going and it will galvanise the dressing room.'

Keegan was instrumental in persuading Shearer to snub Manchester United in favour of returning to his home town club for a then record £15million transfer fee and he predicts the attraction of playing for 'Mighty Mouse' will be as great as ever.

'He only left City in 2005 and he said he hasn't seen a live game since then, but does that matter? I'm not so sure it does. Has the game really changed that much in three years? I don't think so. It's the same game and you have to do the same things.

'We all know his style of play and it's what the Newcastle fans want. They want to be entertained and I know what it's like to play for a Kevin Keegan team.

'Part of the problem for the clubs in the north-east is that a lot of players want to go London, to Manchester or to Liverpool. But they now have a big attraction to go to Newcastle because of Kevin.

'I assume he's going to be given funds otherwise he wouldn't have accepted it. He's in a great position and I'm sure he'll be able to attract players to the club. He's been able to do that wherever he's been. The style will be kamikaze at times but that's what the fans demand.'

The demand from many is for Shearer to be made Keegan's right-hand man. The pair are not close but Shearer promised he would give serious consideration to any call for help.

'If he was to call me, obviously I would speak to him. I'd be a fool not to. I don't know whether he is looking for a No 2 or whether I am a No 2.

'The last time I spoke to him was probably a year ago. We haven't been in regular contact. He's been manic with his soccer circus (business) and I've been crazy since I retired.'

They were due to speak on Thursday, but whether a job offer is forthcoming remains to be seen. One thing is for sure — if the 'dream ticket' of Keegan and Shearer was ever to come to pass, words such as manic and crazy would not do justice to the scenes on Tyneside.

Alan Shearer was speaking at the launch of E.ON National FA Cup Schools Day. The sponsors want 500,000 schoolchildren to participate. For more information see: www.eonuk.com/nationalfacupschoolsday