“We had no idea Kevin was going to say that,” admits former Newcastle midfielder Rob Lee, who had joined the summer before Newcastle’s Second Division title-winning campaign. When Keegan said Newcastle “were coming for Manchester United’s title” it began a thrilling rivalry between the two clubs that would last until he departed from St James’ Park (for the first time as a manager) in 1997. Nobody, though, had challenged Ferguson like this before and the reaction at the time was one of mild amusement. The football club was the most obvious symbol of its renewal.

Newcastle was a city at the start of an exciting rejuvenation from a downtrodden heavy industry base into a vibrant and confident cultural centre.

It was 1993 and the country, as well as football, was going through a dramatic transformation. It was, as declarations go, sitting somewhere between extremely bold or foolishly rash as Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan greeted promotion to the Premier League with a warning to Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson.

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