KEVIN KEEGAN and the Manchester City board of directors presented a united front after yesterday’s board meeting, refusing to comment on the former England coach’s immediate future and his increasingly tenuous grip as manager of the struggling club.
Keegan’s long-term employment prospects have been brought into sharp focus after three defeats in four Premiership games, a run which follows last season’s 14-match streak without a win.
His position was not specifically discussed at the routine monthly gathering of directors and it is believed that John Wardle, the chairman, remains loyal to the manager he tempted out of retirement after the sacking of Joe Royle in May 2001.
Wardle, the multimillionaire co-founder of the JD Sports empire, is convinced that Keegan has the support of the majority of supporters at the City of Manchester Stadium. Indeed, Keegan himself has not come in for personal vilification despite the club’s disappointing start.
However, should that situation change, Wardle is sure to reconsider his backing for the 53-year-old manager, and defeat in the Carling Cup second round home tie with Barnsley next Tuesday, could spell the end of Keegan’s three-and-a-half year tenure.
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Keegan has invested more than £50 million on players in 40 months, some of whom have proved to be expensive failures. Coupled with City’s mounting debts of about £60 million and the prospect of another season struggling to avoid relegation, it is little wonder local radio station phone-ins have been bombarded with calls from stay-away fans calling for a change.
Keegan refused to discuss the meeting yesterday, choosing to concentrate on planning for the trip to face Crystal Palace on Saturday at Selhurst Park — a ground where City have not beaten Palace in seven League and cup visits, a run stretching back 13 years.
Wardle and his fellow directors also declined to comment, leaving Paul Tyrrell, the club spokesman, to play down the significance of the meeting.
“Today’s board meeting was purely a routine monthly one, which the manager attended,” Tyrrell said. “It was pencilled in six weeks ago and it is just unfortunate that it has happened this week. Kevin’s position at the club was not discussed, and it is business as usual at Manchester City.”