NO WONDER Saints beat Sheffield Wednesday at The Dell on Saturday - they had Keegan on their side.

Not the England coach of course but their mascot Keegan Smeeth who was named after the former Saints hero.

The boy from Nomad Close in Bitterne was joined up as a member of the Young Saints when he was just nine hours old; now nine years later his name finally came out of the hat to lead out the team.

And before the kick-off he was handed a good luck card from the superstar who found time amid selecting his squad to send him a signed photo wishing him well on his big day.

Father Steve said: "It was a wonderful gesture by Kevin Keegan. I did some work on his house when he lived down here and I told him then that I had named our son after him.

"I think he was quite flattered. He told me that it was the first child he had had called after him although I believe there are now quite a few around Newcastle!

"Although Saints are my first love, I'm still a big fan of Kevin and it was nice of him to take the time to write to Keegan and I am just delighted that we won.

"Keegan has been a Young Saint since the day he was born and it has been a long wait for his name to come out of the hat but it was a very proud day for us and the result just made it perfect."

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