Outside St James’ Park, fan Brad said: “To be honest I don’t think what you do for Kevin Keegan will ever be enough.
“This guy was phenomenal, as a player and as a manager.
“You know, he took our club from nowhere to the brink.”
Meanwhile, Malcolm, armed with an old photo of himself and the former gaffer, said his legendary status went beyond the pitch.
“He’s done a lot of talking around Newcastle at all of the social clubs,” Malcolm said.
“So me and my pals seen every single one and the stature of the man is, after every single one he stayed til two or three in the morning until every single person got a photograph.”
Additional reporting by Fiona Trott and Dawn Thewlis.