Keegan sprung a surprise by naming Owen as captain ahead of his first game back in charge in what seemed to be an attempt to draw a line under their past disagreements and start afresh. In this line of thinking, Given was collateral damage in Keegan's peace agenda, but the coach insists that his undisputed first choice keeper harbours no resentment.
The former England manager said: "I told Shay I would like Michael to lead it from the front and he said; 'fine I totally understand. I've got no problems with that'.
"I looked at the players I had, and I honestly believed Michael was the most experienced player on the pitch, along with Shay."
Keegan was curiously non-committal about whether the captain's armband will be Owen's to keep, though the suggestion was that this would indeed be the case.
"I think we'll leave it (the captaincy) with him at the moment, and if he comes to me and says he enjoys it, then we can look at it longer term," he concluded.
The pint-sized England striker made an inauspicious start to his time as Newcastle captain, as he failed to register a single shot on goal during the anti-climatic scoreless draw with Bolton.
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