Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan has pledged to make a personal plea to the Football Association (FA) when Joey Barton faces the governing body's disciplinary chiefs next month. The 25-year-old England midfielder will appear before the FA on September 5 after admitting a charge of violent conduct towards former Manchester City team-mate Ousmane Dabo.
Barton received a four-month suspended sentence for assaulting Dabo and has spent 74 days in jail after being sentenced to six months' imprisonment for assault and affray for a separate incident. But Keegan believes Barton should be given another chance.
"I will appear personally at the hearing if required. Definitely," said Keegan. "I supported him at court - so why am I not going to do it at the FA? "For me it is the same thing. If you support someone you support them. "If you believe they have turned a corner you believe they have turned a corner.
"If you believe that then what is wrong with saying it? So I will just support him 100 percent. "I know a lot of people don't agree with me. I have had lots of letters and I have seen all the postbags. "It is for me to make that decision on Barton and I have made what I think is the right decision."