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Sean McCormick

Former Newcastle United boss Kevin Keegan's 'I would love it' rant remembered on Match of the Day

Match of the Day pundits Alan Shearer, Ian Wright and Gary Lineker have reminisced over Kevin Keegan's 'I would love it' rant.

Keegan's Newcastle were 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League table at one stage during the 1995/96 season but had been reeled back in by Manchester United.

And with the Premier League title race in the final stretch, Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson stepped up the mind games.

Ferguson stoked tensions when he suggested Leeds and Nottingham Forest would not try as hard against Newcastle as they would against Manchester United, even inferring Forest - who were due to play the Magpies for Stuart Pearce's testimonial - might even let Newcastle win.

Keegan was incensed and after Newcastle battled to a hard-fought win away at Leeds, his temper spilled over in a post-match interview on Sky Sports when it was put to him Ferguson's comments were all part of the psychological warfare.

What followed was one of the most iconic rants in sports television history.

"No, no," Keegan fumed.

"When you do that with footballers, like he said about Leeds, and when you do things like that about a man like Stuart Pearce, I've kept really quiet, but I'll tell you something, he went down in my estimation when he said that.

"We have not resorted to that, but I'll tell you, you can tell him now if you're watching it, we're still fighting for this title, and he's got to go to Middlesbrough and get something, and... and... I'll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them, love it!"

Manchester United would go on to win the Premier League title and, to many observers, the rant was seen as a key point in the title race.

So when BBC's Match of the Day Premier League Top 10s podcast picked out the Top 10 'Most Bonkers' Premier League moments, Keegan's rant unsurprisingly made the cut.

Here is how Wright, Shearer - who played under Keegan at Newcastle - and Lineker described Keegan's rant on the podcast.

Wright: "From the outside looking in, Newcastle and Manchester United were going at it hammer and tongs and the way Sir Alex Ferguson just threw comments... Kevin was doing the interview and you could see his head working but getting more and more angry.

"I fell on the floor when that happened. That is one of the greatest things I have seen on TV. You don't see a manager lose it like that."

Shearer: "Sir Alex Ferguson had got to him. Newcastle had a 12-point lead at the top of the table in February and Manchester United slowly but surely chipped away and you can imagine the pressure they were under. He fell for it hook, line and sinker in the interview - "he's still got to go to Middlesbrough and get something".

Lineker: "He just bit so badly."

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