They say never meet your heroes, but I was very fortunate to meet Kevin Keegan

Newcastle United revealed that their former manager and player had been diagnosed with cancer before last night's game against Leeds United, fittingly a 4-3 Premier League classic.

They say never meet your heroes.

But that statement does not apply to Kevin Keegan, a hero I was very fortunate to meet.

Newcastle United published a statement from Keegan’s family before last night’s game against Leeds United revealing that the 74-year-old had been diagnosed with cancer.

The pre-match news stunned St James’ Park, the stadium with which Keegan will always be most associated with given his playing spell and two managerial stints at the club.

Both sets of fans applauded in support of Keegan, arguably one of the most important figures in Newcastle’s long history.

I got to know Keegan a little during his second managerial stint, as I was reporting on the club for the Shields Gazette.

Older colleagues who had reported on his first spell as manager said that he had changed, and that some of his spark had gone. Yet Keegan could still light up a press conference with a turn of phrase. Those moments left an indelible impression on me.

So Keegan’s infectious energy and effervescence still bubbled away, and I can only imagine what he was like when he spoke to players in the dressing room, especially during his first stint when he took the club from the brink of the old Third Division to the top of the Premiership, as it was then known.

Even then, during his challenging second spell as manager, he was box office, though, maybe wisely, he kept his counsel at times as his relationship with owner Mike Ashley and the club’s hierarchy became increasingly strained.

The journalists who covered the club at the time were invited to Newcastle International Airport to see Keegan after an airline named an aircraft after the former England international.

United had just signed a player, but Keegan would not say a word about the new recruit. His awkward silence spoke volumes about the disconnect between him and the club’s recruitment which would ultimately lead to his departure.

Keegan, years later, documented the off-field events which would end what had been described as his “third coming” in a book, My Life in Football, written by Daniel Taylor.

The name of the chapter on his second return to St James’ Park said it all: “My big mistake.”

Keegan’s efforts as player and manager at the club, though, will never be forgotten.

We’re all with you, King Kev.

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Then came the game, and, fittingly, it was a 4-3 Premier League classic.

Eddie Howe’s side came from behind three times to beat Leeds thanks to a goal from Harvey Barnes 12 minutes into added time.

A lot has been said about Newcastle’s shortcomings this season, especially away from home, but the character and commitment we saw at St James’ Park last night could yet take the team a long way.

When I got home from the match, I was reminded by a social media app that I had shared the back page of the Gazette exactly three years earlier.

The Shields Gazette’s back page on January 7, 2023.

The headline – “We’re here to compete” – was based on a quote from a post-match press conference after a goalless draw away to Arsenal.

"We’re not here to be popular, and to get other teams to like us,” said Howe.

“We’re here to compete and, to compete, we have to give everything to try and get a positive result. I’ve got no issue saying that. That’s our job – and that’s what we’re going to try and continue to do.”

Howe’s team, it is clear, is still here to compete.

And Keegan, if he was watching last night, would have just loved it.