The Magpies took their points total to 38 with a 3-0 victory over Reading as they won for the third successive game to all but end their relegation fears.

But with five games still to play Keegan is determined to better the 43-point return which cost Glenn Roeder his job last season, the club's worst Premier League return.

He said: "The main focus still is to finish as high in the Premier League as we can.

"I don't want to be manager of this club and finish with less than 43 points, which is the lowest total they have ever got.

"My personal ambition is not to be remembered as the manager who got the lowest points.

"I am looking forward to my holidays, to be honest with you - but not yet.

"It would be nice if we could finish the season by continuing to play and enjoy our football like we can and send the people here away for their holidays thinking, 'Wow, next season could be very, very good for Newcastle United'.

"We could give them some optimism, and that's all we can do this year.

"This will still be a poor season for Newcastle United. It won't be remembered by the fans as a classic season.

"But we can still plant some seeds for next year, and that's what we are trying to do."

Keegan had his three strikers to thank for a victory which was by no means as comprehensive as the scoreline suggests.

Indeed, Obafemi Martins' 18th-minute strike came against the run of play and the visitors could consider themselves unfortunate to go in at the break 2-0 down after Michael Owen claimed his 10th goal of the season with 43 minutes gone.

But by the time Mark Viduka beat Marcus Hahnemann 13 minutes after the interval, victory was secured.

Keegan always felt his strikers would drag the club out of trouble and, having seen them take their collective tally to eight goals in the last four games, he was grateful for the firepower recruited by his predecessors.

He added: "I don't think we played as well as we can today, but we still could have scored five or six goals.

"We went ahead against the run of play, there's no doubt about that. Reading were causing us more problems than we were causing them.

"But when you look at our front three, you just know if we can get it together for five, 10, 15 minutes every now and again, we will score goals.

"They got one each today, which is great. There is chalk and cheese and there must be something else because they are so different to each other.

"Viduka is totally different to Michael, who is totally different to Oba, but it somehow works, and it is causing other teams problems."

Reading boss Steve Coppell admitted he could not quite believe his side were behind at the break, but acknowledged Newcastle's potency in front of goal.

He said: "After 45 minutes or the first 20 minutes, I thought we were looking the better team. We had a little bit more purpose.

"The first goal was just a genuine slip from a defender who, if he had stayed on his feet, would have controlled the situation.

"Again after the goal I still thought we were marginally the better side without really having the clinical cutting edge.

"We came in 2-0 down at half time and in a way I was thinking, 'How did that happen?'.

"But that's probably why we are where we are. We are down at the bottom because those kind of things do happen.

"Credit to the finishing they have in Michael Owen and Obafemi Martins and Viduka. That is a hell of a threesome, and to try to keep them quiet is a handful over the course of 90-odd minutes."