Newcastle United boss Kevin Keegan admits Steve Harper's progress has surprised him.

Keegan said: "I signed Steve and if someone had said he would end up being as good a goalkeeper as he is, I would probably have said, 'You are dreaming a bit there'.

"But he is an excellent goalkeeper. We have got two excellent goalkeepers here, and when we made the decision with Shay, it was made easier to get him right and do what was right for Shay because we had Steve Harper.

"That decision was easier than trying to patch him up and send him out because definitely a 90% Shay is not the same as a 100% Steve Harper for me.

"He is a very, very good goalkeeper in his own right, as he has proved.

"We have got two very good goalkeepers and that is all he is proving at the moment."