Tributes pour in for Kevin Keegan at St James' Park

Fans, former players and commentators have paid tribute to Kevin Keegan after his death at 75, with flowers laid outside St James' Park.

Flowers have been laid outside St James' Park to honour the Newcastle former player and manager after news broke of Kevin Keegan's death at the age of 75. Fans around Newcastle have paid tribute to the former footballer, with many saying Geordies could claim him as one of their own because of the influential stints he had as both player and manager.

Even Sunderland fan Eddie, whose wife Brenda supports Newcastle, said:

"He's a legend isn't he? Red and white, black and white it doesn't matter."

Flowers have been laid at St James' Park as supporters flocked to the ground to pay their respects.

Keegan first came to Newcastle as a player at the start of the 1982-83 season and helped the club towards promotion to the First Division. He announced his retirement at the end of the following season and famously left St James' Park in a helicopter following his testimonial match.

What was Keegan's connection to Newcastle?

Originally from Yorkshire, when he first signed for the Magpies, Keegan said it

"felt like coming home".

His family had deep roots in the area, and his granddad, Frank, was a County Durham miner and a hero of the West Stanley Pit Disaster of 1909.

Frank made it out alive after an explosion tore through the pit and he went back in to help save the lives of other miners. Both his granddad and his dad Joe were lifelong Newcastle supporters.

Image caption, Kevin Keegan's dad and granddad were lifelong Newcastle supporters

How did he shape Newcastle as a manager?

As a manager, he returned to Newcastle in 1992 and solidified his position as a Tyneside legend when he led the Toon to second place in 1995-96. He was in charge when Newcastle signed Alan Shearer for a then, world record fee of £15m in 1996.

Alan Shearer sitting to the left of Kevin Keegan during a press conference. There are microphones in front of them both and Keegan is talking while Shearer looks off to the side and smiles. Shearer is wearing a white Newcastle United polo shirt while Keegan wears a black blazer and patterned tie. Shearer has dark blonde hair and Keegan has grey hair which is swept back. They are sitting in front of a large Newcastle Brown Ale advertisement. — Image caption, Kevin Keegan was manager when Alan Shearer signed for the club in 1996

Leading tributes on Monday, Shearer wrote on X:

"My Hero. My manager. My friend.

After resigning in 1997, he then returned for an eight-month stint in 2008.

How are fans and former players remembering him?

BBC Radio Newcastle co-commentator and ex-player John Anderson, who arrived at Newcastle a couple of weeks before Keegan in 1982, said:

"It was a culture shock for me, I have to say, somebody who had won what he'd won and achieved what he had achieved in the game,"

"But he made everyone feel so comfortable, he was such a humble guy and it didn't matter who you were, whether you were a teammate, whether you were someone in the street, he spoke to everybody exactly the same.

"You hear the word 'legend' banded around all the time now - but Kevin Keegan's got to be put on a pedestal of legends."

Lee Dixon, who played at Newcastle under Keegan, said he was

"heartbroken"

Lee Dixon standing in front of a row of flowers at the steps of St James' Park. He has grey, short hair and is wearing a beige polo shirt and blue shorts. He has his hands behind his back and his head bowed. There is a Newcastle United scarf attached to the railing to the left. — Image caption, Lee Dixon, who played at Newcastle under Keegan, said he was "heartbroken"

Lee Clark, who played under Keegan in the 90s, said he was

"very heartbroken"

by the news.

"He wasn't just a manager to me, he was a hero at first and then he became my manager and my boss and friend, but then he became like a father figure,"

Clark said.

The now-Hartlepool manager said that when he first passed his driving test, Keegan saw him behind the wheel of a sports car and made him take it back to the garage because he did not like the way he was driving it. He did the same again with Clark's next car.

"He was like the Pied Piper to the Geordie public,"

Clark said.

Brenda and Eddie smiling into the camera. Brenda is on the left and has short blonde hair and is wearing dark framed glasses with a beige striped top on. Martin has grey short hair and is wearing a blue t-shirt. They are standing on a busy street with buses going past. — Image caption, Sunderland supporter Eddie said Keegan was a "legend", no matter what your club colours are

Outside St James' Park, fan Brad said:

"To be honest I don't think what you do for Kevin Keegan will ever be enough.

"This guy was phenomenal, as a player and as a manager.

"You know, he took our club from nowhere to the brink."

Meanwhile, Malcolm, armed with an old photo of himself and the former gaffer, said his legendary status went beyond the pitch.

"He's done a lot of talking around Newcastle at all of the social clubs,"

Malcolm said.

"So me and my pals seen every single one and the stature of the man is, after every single one he stayed til two or three in the morning until every single person got a photograph."