Kevin Keegan is hoping to build on his impressive record against Manchester United when the two sides meet at St James' Park on Saturday.

Despite being yet to pick up a win since taking charge of the Magpies for a second time, Keegan knows what it takes to beat Sir Alex Ferguson's side having racked up a number of resounding victories over the Red Devils in the past.

The last time he sent out a Newcastle side to face United at St James' Park they came away with a famous 5-0 win and during his time at Manchester City he guided the club to 3-1 and 4-1 successes.

However, the Magpies have gone nine games without a Premier League win and Keegan accepts that it will take a monumental effort from his players to achieve a similar result this time around.

"I don't know what my record is like against Sir Alex, but I don't think it is as bad as some managers. I'm sure it is not the worst," he said.

"They have got the form and we have not, so we will see if we can surprise a few people. We have had a little bit of a break and we have worked the players a little bit harder.

"We gave them a couple of days off, but they are back now and fresh, and we know what is ahead of us on Saturday. I have been pleased and we are building up to what is a very big game for us."

Newcastle's last game saw them beaten 4-1 at Aston Villa and with United having played two more matches since then, Keegan admits that his side may not have benefited from their enforced break.

"Two weeks without a game has been a long time, and the last game against Aston Villa was not a good performance," he said.

"Man United will have had two games by the time they play us, so we have little things going for us."