Speculation has been rife since long before Keegan returned to Tyneside in January that the likes of Michael Owen and Obafemi Martins could be targets for clubs both at home and abroad.

However, both men have played key roles in the club's recent revival and have received rave reviews from their new boss.

That has inevitably led to fresh rumours over their respective futures with Owen out of contract at the end of next season and Martins having a £13million get-out clause written into his contract on his arrival from Inter Milan.

But Keegan, who is keen to address Owen's situation as a matter of urgency after seeing him score in each of his last four games, is hopeful his summer spending will revolve around strengthening what he has already got rather than finding replacements.

He said: "There's no point strengthening your squad and then letting your best players go.

"None of those players have come and knocked on my door and said they want to leave so, until that happens, I will just assume they want to play for this club and fulfil their contracts because they are all enjoying it at the moment.

"I don't think you will find any of them coming in front of the cameras or in front of the press and saying it is not a good club to be at."

The doors at St James' were revolving at top speed last summer as then new boss Sam Allardyce wheeled and dealed to overhaul the squad.

But Keegan is adamant that he will look for quality rather than quantity once he has persuaded owner Mike Ashley to fund his plans.

He said: "I said all along, even before we got into this run of games and started to play the sort of football and get the sort of results a club like Newcastle should in the Premier League, we would be looking for four or five players.

"I honestly believe that's all we need. But those four of five players have to be top quality, they have to be absolutely top quality.

"Them maybe we can slot in a couple of youngsters who are what I would call maybes or wannabes just to build the squad up.

"Other than that, I don't see us bringing in 10 or 11 like they did at the start of this season."

In the meantime, the Magpies will look to secure their top-flight status mathematically when they run out against FA Cup finalists Portsmouth at Fratton Park tomorrow evening attempting to win a fourth successive game.

Victories over Fulham, Tottenham and Reading have changed the complexion of their season and while Keegan acknowledges that nothing they do now will make the current campaign a success, he will continue to look for positives.

Newcastle have played some of their best football of the season in recent weeks to rekindle memories of the manager's last spell in charge, although he insists it is the players who are responsible.

Keegan said: "I said last time when people asked me how did I build the entertainers, I never set out to build the entertainers, I just set out to get good players and get them playing together.

"Then they make it happen out there. Even at 80% - and that's all we were last weekend - there was some terrific football played and it was entertaining.

"I said to the lads afterwards, you will hear people talking about the entertainers from the past when I was here, but that was every bit as good.

"But those in the past were doing it every single week, and that's the challenge for us."