Newcastle United boss Kevin Keegan is happy to have Steve Harper and Shay Given competing for the No1 goalkeeper's position.

"I think we've got the best pair of goalkeepers in the Premier League, I honestly do," said Keegan.

"We're very lucky to have them. I don't know every pair of goalkeepers at every club in the division, but I've seen or worked with most of them during my time as a manager.

"I signed Steve Harper as a young boy and I liked him then and I like him now. He will get his chances, I'm sure of that.

"He's the sort of guy that, if you had a daughter, you'd be happy if she brought him home to meet you," he told The Journal.

"I suppose Shay has just got the edge over him because he has so much experience. He has played so many games, not just with Newcastle United, but with Blackburn Rovers before that and with the Republic of Ireland of course.

"We've also got a couple of young goalkeepers at the club at the moment, Fraser Forster and a young Swedish lad called Ole Soderberg who has been training with the first-team squad.

"They are both learning from Steve and Shay, so we're very well off in that position."