Welcome to the circus, Mr Keegan

But as the Geordie Messiah prepares for the first crucial game of his third coming, today's North- East derby against Middlesbrough, he is already cutting an isolated figure.

Victory this afternoon would merely paper over the cracks of the situation at Newcastle, which one former player has described as 'f***ing chaos'.

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Keegan has swapped his Soccer Circus in Glasgow for another just south of the Border, only this time he does not appear to be the ringmaster.

The feelgood factor generated by his shock comeback had already been partially eroded by the goalless draw with Bolton and the toothless FA Cup defeat at Arsenal.

But the appointments of former England midfielder Dennis Wise and property developer Tony Jimenez to the board, and the ensuing confusion over who will do what, have heaped uncertainty and pressure on a man whose passionate, volatile streak is both his strength and his weakness.

When his team slumped to another 3-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium in midweek, their third game with no goals and barely a shot of consequence — two days after Wise and Jimenez had been parachuted in — Keegan's post-match appearance was a study in negative body language.

The downcast expression, the unconvincing attempts to find the positives, the way he seemed to be addressing his comments to someone kneeling beside the interviewer — this was the Keegan who suddenly left Newcastle in 1997 because he felt he could not take them any further, not the man who had the Toon Army swooning at his exciting football and dreaming of a Premier League title.

He may have brought in trusted lieutenant Arthur Cox to join another old mucker, Terry McDermott, at his side, but the impression is of a man who feels marginalised, bemused and confused by what is going on around him. As one insider has privately confessed: 'If I knew what was going on, I'd be the only one.'

Wise now rejoices in a £1.5 milliona- year salary and the title of executive director (football).

A Newcastle statement said: ' Dennis will assist the board on football-related matters, including the development of the club's academy and player recruitment.

He will report to the chairman.' Not according to Keegan, who said: 'Dennis reports to me — the chain is established.'

Wise then put in his two-pennyworth: 'I am here to help Kevin as much as possible with bringing young players through, and to recommend players to him. He will say yes or no. He has the final word. No one else.'

So that's all clear, then. Privately, Keegan is believed to be perplexed by Wise's appointment and fears that Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has merely lined up a ready-made replacement.

Keegan was aware the club intended to put in place a continental-style structure and that Wise was in the mix for a role.

But even those who know and like Wise point out he has never shown much interest in working with young players or scouting, and experts in the field are adamant the three days a week Wise will be required to spend in the North-East are not enough for him to do the job properly.

For an explanation as to what Wise is doing at St James' Park, Keegan should probably look no further than Jimenez, the club's new vicepresident (player recruitment) and, for some time now, Wise's friend and adviser.

Jimenez is well-connected, as he demonstrated in masterminding the recruiting of Juande Ramos and Gus Poyet by Tottenham with his friend from the property business, Paul Kemsley, then a Spurs director.

Kemsley and Ashley are close friends and Jimenez is understood to have been Ashley's football adviser since his takeover, but Harry Redknapp's surprise U-turn after he had agreed a deal to become manager left the Newcastle brains trust in urgent need of a Plan B.

Wise, Jimenez and new technical co-ordinator Jeff Vetere are it.

It is early days, but with Keegan desperate for new players to freshen up a demoralised and deficient team, what happened in the remainder of the January transfer window does not inspire great confidence.

Newcastle missed out on Middlesbrough's Jonathan Woodgate, who preferred to leave his native North-East for Tottenham, Derby's Giles Barnes and Levante full-back Alvaro. The only new recruit Wise, Jimenez and Vetere have come up with is Fabio Zamblera, a 17-year-old striker from Atalanta who cannot be expected to end Newcastle's goal drought singlehandedly.

Can the unlikely alliance steer Newcastle through a run of fixtures, starting today, which could land them in the thick of a relegation battle? Keegan has tried to be bullish.

'It will work fantastically well if everyone does what they said they would do,' he said. 'If someone does something different, we will have a meeting again and say: "Hold on, this is not quite right. This is not what we said".'

But Alan Shearer, who clearly believes he is well out of the club, said: 'That situation is very unusual. Maybe these things happen abroad but not in this country. I'm just not sure how that is going to work.

'One thing about Kevin is he has always been his own man with his own ideas. They worked in spectacular fashion the last time he was here and they can do again if he is given the chance.'

The events of the past week make that 'if' more enormous than ever.