Soccer: Keegan has no intention of walking out on City

KEVIN KEEGAN has insisted he has no intention of quitting Manchester City. Speculation that Keegan was about to walk away from the Blues has been growing in recent weeks as his side staggered through an alarming dip in form.

Last night’s 1-1 draw with Leeds was their ninth game without a win, a calamitous run which has left them in the bottom half of the Barclaycard Premiership and dumped them out of two lucrative cup competitions.

Even though he still has more than two years left on his contract, the talk was that Keegan would suddenly turn his back on the club, just as he did with Newcastle and England.

There have been rumours of training ground bust-ups and a lack of faith among the players about their manager’s ability.

However, the City boss remains popular with the fans and has confirmed his intention to stick it out. He remains confident he will turn the club into an established top-six side before his contract comes to an end.

“I have the rest of this season and two more years left after that and I intend to fulfil my contract,” he said.

“Whatever some people may think, I am as enthusiastic as ever about Manchester City and what I am trying to achieve here.

“The job I was given was to get this club into the top six of the Premiership in five years.

“If we can get a few wins and our confidence back, there is still a chance of achieving that goal in three.

“Providing the management, fans and players stick together, we will get ourselves out of this trough and continue to take this club forward.”

Keegan won the Nationwide League title in his first season with the club and guided them to a ninth-placed Premiership finish in his second.

With a UEFA Cup berth secured through the Fair Play table, he spoke optimistically in the summer about his hopes of sneaking into the top four.

When City went top of the table with a win at Blackburn at the end of August, it appeared his words would come true, only for the current winless streak to send them tumbling down the division.

Keegan has struggled to find the right formula from his experienced squad of players and the likes of Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler and David Seaman have failed to justify their illustrious reputations and enormous salaries.

Last night’s result, in which City valiantly fought back to level after an horrendous David Sommeil blunder gifted Leeds the opening goal, at least offered some optimism for a Christmas period that includes a St Stephen’s Day trip to Birmingham and a home encounter with Liverpool 48 hours later.

“The character we showed last night was great,” said Keegan.