The 57-year-old has had to try to drag the club out of trouble in the glare of the media spotlight as the euphoria over his return to Tyneside gave way to criticism of both his methods and his players.

But a noticeable unity has emerged within the camp in recent weeks as Keegan and his squad look for the answers to a problem which has grown increasingly pressing as his latest reign has unfolded.

The Magpies finally handed their manager a first victory at the 10th attempt last Saturday when they defeated Fulham 2-0 to ease themselves six points clear of the drop zone.

They head for a difficult encounter with in-form Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Sunday hoping that Spurs' North London rivals Arsenal will have done them a favour 24 hours earlier by winning at Bolton.

But a positive result for Newcastle on top of last weekend's win and the 1-1 draw at Birmingham which preceded it would maintain a more promising trend and perhaps shift the focus away from a club which has once again found itself the centre of attention.

Keegan said: "If you have ever been around Newcastle - and I have been around here twice before - it is just the way it is. It is not going to go away.

"The good news is when you turn it around and you do really well, you get the same sort of swing and ferocity the other way.

"If you win a few games at the start of the season, you are going to win the league here - that's always been the case at this club.

"The reality is that we find ourselves in a position where, with our resources, we should not be.

"But fortunately for me and for the fans, we have got the players to solve these problems."

Keegan succeeded Sam Allardyce in January and did so with the fixture list having taken a turn for the worse.

However, he has been impressed by both the character and the quality of the players he has inherited, if not the number as injuries continue to stretch his squad.

He said: "We have got a good group of players here, there is plenty to build on here.

"There are some good characters, there are a lot of people who care around this club despite what the outside world thinks.

"There are a lot of good things here. There are a lot of things we have got to start putting right in terms of results, but once they come, the swing will be like it was last time with the players we have."

The Magpies took advantage of Spurs' early-season woes to secure a 3-1 home win October 27, but collected all three points just twice in the next 21 attempts as their season lurched to the brink of disaster before Mark Viduka and Michael Owen teamed up to shoot down Fulham.