Manager Ossie Ardiles struggled to add to his squad of talented youngsters due to lack of funds, the truth being the club was severely in debt.

An improvement in form helped Newcastle to narrowly avoid relegation from the Second Division, with their survival only confirmed on the last day of the season.

In a season that saw a change of manager, the club had three different chairmen: Gordon McKeag stepped down under pressure from the Magpie Group consortium, to be replaced by board member George Forbes, before Sir John Hall, the head of the Magpie Group since the late 1980s, replaced Forbes Hall presided over a period of boardroom calm at the club, debts were restructured and the funds were made available for team strengthening.

In the last few weeks of the season Keegan led the team to safety and the possibility of relegation to the third division for the first time in the club's history.

[citation needed] St James' Park was regularly packed to capacity again and United confirmed their Second Division survival with a 2–1 win at Leicester City on the last day of the season, after a last-minute own goal.