Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan has confirmed that striker Michael Owen will retain the club captaincy next season.

Owen was handed the armband by Keegan upon his return to the club in January.

And the England international led by example as he scored several vital goals to help reverse the side's worrying slump in the first few months of the manager's return to Tyneside.

Owen has been linked with a move away from the club because of differences of opinion with Keegan in the past, especially when the current Magpies boss was in charge of the England national side.

But rather than distance himself from the 27-year-old, Keegan has taken Owen under his wing as one of the leaders on the team and reinforced his belief that the former Liverpool and Real Madrid forward has a major part to play in the St James' Park setup.

"He leads by example, and that's a good way to lead," Keegan said.

"He's not scared to give his opinion when he's right, or to say what he feels.

"He has really impressed everybody. He's a tremendous professional and he trains properly every day."

The Magpies opened their pre-season schedule with a 4-1 victory at Hartlepool last Saturday as Damien Duff scored a hat-trick and summer signing Danny Guthrie got off the mark for his new club.

Newcastle travel to Doncaster Rovers for a second domestic pre-season friendly this weekend before matches against Hertha Berlin, Real Mallorca, PSV Eindhoven and Valencia complete their fixture list.

The new season opens for Geordie fans with a difficult trip to defending Premier League champions Manchester United on August 17th.
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