Keegan prepares apology

Kevin Keegan will write a letter of apology to referee Steve Dunn for his foul-mouthed tunnel tirade at St James' Park on Sunday - but remains unrepentant about his post-match media comments.

Kevin Keegan will write a letter of apology to referee Steve Dunn for his foul-mouthed tunnel tirade at St James' Park on Sunday - but remains unrepentant about his post-match media comments.

The Manchester City manager has been charged with using "insulting words or behaviour" towards the Bristol official after his side's 4-3 Premiership loss at Newcastle. Keegan was furious at a string of controversial decisions which he felt favoured his former club.

Yesterday the former England manager admitted he was wrong to attack Dunn in such a manner but is adamant the referee had a bad game.

"I shall write a letter of apology to the referee for the way I spoke to him," he said. "I stick by what I said but I could have put it more eloquently.

"I make no apology for what I said to the media. You need a strong referee at St James' Park, and we didn't have one. If the FA want evidence I will provide it. I would go to the Court of Human Rights if they tried to fine me. But it is the things I said in the tunnel that I am probably in trouble for, and for that I will probably get what I deserve."

Keegan is likely to escape with a fine rather than the touchline bans handed out with seeming regularity to the likes of Graeme Souness. His old Liverpool colleague was one of those who tried to pacify Keegan on Sunday - a situation even the City manager found amusing.

"Graeme said to me: 'Calm down'. I said: 'Calm down? If you were in my position you would be sitting in the stands by now'. It's easy to offer advice when you are getting the decisions.

"When they went home on Sunday night Graeme - and Sir Alex Ferguson for that matter - might have sat back and reflected if the decisions had gone the other way they would have been saying exactly the same things as myself and Arsène Wenger."