Keegan hails 'world class' Owen

The England striker scored his third goal since Keegan's return to the club to earn a precious point and cancel out a first-half effort from Blues striker James McFadden, making it the fourth time in the past two months City have drawn 1-1 at home with a side in the bottom six.

"He is a world-class player," said Keegan. "Some people in this country might be losing a bit of faith but when you look at his statistics, even his record for Newcastle by anyone's standards is excellent."

He added: "If any of you had seen us at Blackburn recently, we could be talking about Michael Owen now having eight or nine goals. In that game, he had four great chances.

"But the one thing you know about Michael is that if you do create opportunities, he will normally stick them away. I'm more surprised if he misses than if he scores.

"Michael has always got the chance to answer his critics on the football field and he is such a strong character that he will do that."

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish was upbeat despite seeing his side surrender their first-half advantage as they moved two points clear off the bottom three.

He said: "I think Newcastle deserved something for their second-half performance after the first half had belonged to us. We couldn't get the second goal that would have given us some breathing space."

Meanwhile, Magpies goalkeeper Shay Given will undergo surgery on him troublesome groin injury in Germany on Tuesday.

A statement on the club's official website read: "After consultation with Dr Ulrike Muschaweck, Shay Given will have surgery in Munich to cure his recurrent groin problems. He is expected to make a full recovery and will be absent for a six-week period."