Newcastle United boss Kevin Keegan admits he may axe Nicky Butt for the remainder of the season - over suspension concerns.

The 33-year-old heads into Monday's Premier League clash with Chelsea on 14 bookings for the campaign knowing another will see him miss the first three matches of next season.

Keegan said: "I will have a chat with Nicky about it all, but my feeling is that he is a vital player for us.

"Nicky is always the sort of player who is going to get booked because he is so competitive and he goes in there and tries to win challenges. He has got to handle that.

"When you are doing as many as he does over 90-odd minutes, you are going to mis-time some."