Owen: Magpies saviour?

Michael Owen gave beleaguered Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan a lifeline at St Andrews on Monday night as he scored the equaliser in a tough 1-1 draw will fellow Premier League strugglers Birmingham.

Owen and Newcastle have had a dismal season and his strike lifted some of the gloom around in the North East despite the Geordies being perilously close to the drop zone.

Keegan believes that Owen will play a massive role in the relegation run-in and was quick to extinguish any negativity around the striker.

‘A lot of people have been questioning him because he is a big-name player but he won't stop scoring if you give him chances,’ said Keegan.

‘I am delighted to have a player like Michael at the club. His leadership and work-rate have been fantastic.’

It’s only the seventh goal of Owen’s season and the striker has had to endure endless niggling injuries and had to watch from the sidelines in England’s recent friendly with Switzerland.

Things could be looking up for the Geordies after another battling effort – it looked inconceivable that could be relegated, but it’s looking a distinct possibility, Keegan will need a fit and scoring Owen in his armoury and that’s also good news for England.

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