Kevin Keegan, the Newcastle United manager, has confirmed he will hold a meeting with Mike Ashley, the club's owner, in London tomorrow. The 57-year-old says he is looking forward to it, despite speculation that the relationship between the pair remains raw after Keegan expressed doubts about his ability to break the dominance of the "big four".

In comments made after Newcastle's 2-0 defeat by Chelsea, Keegan said he could not hope to qualify for the Champions League during his time at the club, and called on Ashley to back him in the transfer market.

Newcastle play Everton on Sunday, and Keegan spoke before the pre-match press conference, which had been brought forward 24 hours, to pre-empt a tide of questions on the meeting with Ashley. "That's the only comment that really I am going to make on anything to do with that today because this is a pre-match conference for the game against Everton and that's all I'm going to talk about from now on. Any other questions, they'll save for another day and I will try on that day, whenever it is, to answer them as honestly as I can."

Keegan has conceded that he has little input in the club’s transfer policy, beyond submitting a list of targets to the Newcastle directors, and it is clear that relationships remain strained.

He added: "I know some people are disappointed that I am saying we are not going to win the league this time, but I would be in danger of being whipped off to the old nuthouse if I started saying that, because there is a big gulf. "It is well-documented and has been well-documented, not just by myself, but by many, many other people in the game whose opinions are respected.

"The challenge is there, but I don't think it can be done in a year or two."

Keegan also confirmed that Mark Viduka, the 32-year-old forward who was due to undergo an injection for a long-standing Achilles problem today, could be out of action for between three and six months.

"He went to have this injection. He had the injection and the problem is slightly worse than was feared," he said. "He goes back in 10 days to two weeks having had the injection, and that may well solve the problem, as was originally thought. But there is a chance, the doctor informs me, that he might need something more than that."