NEWCASTLE, England (AFP) - Kevin Keegan on Friday opened the door to the creation of a Newcastle managerial dream team with Alan Shearer as he set his sights on leading the club back into the elite of English football.

Speaking at his first press conference after his shock return to Tyneside to fill the vacancy created by the dismissal of Sam Allardyce, Keegan said he would relish the challenge of reviving the Magpies' fortunes and "love" the chance to work with Shearer.

"This is a very special club, and that's what people outside this area don't understand," Keegan said before confirming that he would definitely be making contact with Shearer, the club's record goalscorer who has been touted as a potential manager of the club since the day he hung up his boots.

"I haven't spoken to Alan yet, the answer to that question is that I've concentrated fully on Saturday's match (against Bolton).

"I've walked into a training ground I've never seen, meeting a lot of the staff for the first time. There's only four people left since I was last here and one of those was Terry Mac (McDermott).

"If there is a role for Alan which he wants, I will definitely speak to him at some stage. I would love to have him back, and we'll definitely talk."

Shearer has said he will be open to any offer from Newcastle although he has also admitted that he does not see himself as a natural number two.

Keegan has been out of football since he left Manchester City in 2005 and he said Newcastle were the only club that could have tempted him back.

"I've had offers since I've been out the game but this is the right one for me," he said. "I think I will have a head start here and I know the job ahead.

"Normally there are a lot of questions which need answering in the first two or three months when you take over a new club but I know the answers to those questions having been here already.

"There are a lot of quality players here in Michael Owen and Mark Viduka, and then you start to look at other players who have been at other clubs and done.

"There are players like Nicky Butt and Alan Smith who have won trophies with Man United; Damien Duff who has played numerous times with his country. So there is a lot of potential here.

"I want the club to be a different club from what they have experienced - they haven't seen the club at its best yet.

"The game is pretty much the same, the way people have talked you feel like you've been out the game a 100 years, but I've been away three years and that time apart has helped me."

Keegan is confident that, with the financial backing of the club's owner, Mike Ashley, he can break the stranglehold that Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool currently hold on England's four Champions League places.

"If there's one thing that impressed me with Mike Ashley, it's not just that the finance would be provided, he was saying 'I want to win something'," Keegan added.

"That might sound a tough challenge but it is possible to win something here, for them to break into the top four. Not overnight. But we did it once before."

Keegan's determination to win some silverware will not however mean sacrificing the attacking style he has championed as a manager and which almost brought him a Premier League title in the 1995-96 campaign during his last stint at St James' Park.

"When they (the supporters) have worked all week, the match for them is a bit like people down south going to a theatre," he said. "They want to be entertained and see something worth seeing.

"What they don't want is for us to go out and drably play and win 1-0. We will have a go and when we've got settled in we'll hopefully show that."