Newcastle chairman Chris Mort

Newcastle chairman Chris Mort insists Kevin Keegan was "absolutely number one" choice to manage the club once he had expressed a willingness to return to St James' Park.

Mort revealed he and club owner Mike Ashley opened discussions with Keegan a day before they first spoke to Harry Redknapp, with the Portsmouth manager subsequently going public to say he did not want the job.

And once Keegan made it clear he would like to come back to the job he left 11 years previously, he was in pole position according to the Magpies chairman.

Mort told BBC Radio 5 Live: "We had a number of people, Kevin was on that list.

"The problem with Kevin was 'We might not be able to get him back because he's been here before and he has been out of football for a couple of years'.

"Once we got the response when I talked to Kevin and he said 'Actually, this is something I am willing to do' then he was absolutely top of the list, absolutely number one.

"All we had to do then was sit down, make sure we were comfortable with each other and conclude the process."

Mort also refuted suggestions Keegan had fallen out of love with football, with the former England boss admitting in an interview late last year he had hardly seen a game in three years.

"He is in love with football," Mort added.

"If you sit down and talk to him you can see he is still enthusiastic for football and also has a good appreciation of the footballers who are out there."