Kevin Keegan is adamant Newcastle United remains a sleeping giant.
Keegan believes they should still be competing at the top end of the table — and not scrapping to avoid another relegation.
In an interview with Alan Shearer for The Athletic, he said: “I don't care what anybody says, it's a special club. It's not like any other club.
“If you'd said in 1927 — the last time they won the league — that nearly a century later they wouldn't have won it again, people would have laughed at you.
“They had won it four times by then. You can never foresee.
“It just needs running. It needs direction, leadership. It needs understanding of what it is. It needs some care.
“If you take Newcastle by takings, crowd, whatever, it's something like the 17th-biggest football club in the world.
“That means it should be among the top four or five in England.
“Yes, Man United are bigger. Yes, Liverpool are bigger. But they're only bigger because they've won things. It could all change with new ownership. You never know, it might just be around the corner."