Keegan left the club because Ashley appointed Dennis Wise above him, and he knows the rules Pardew has to work under.
KK walked ... Pardew won't because he wants a pay-off. That alone shows the difference between the two.
Keegan has his principles; Pardew has a greater love of money.
victories over Leicester, Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool have changed the mood on Tyneside.
Kevin Keegan (talking to the Press Association Sport): "Four games ago there was despair around Newcastle.
"He's been under pressure for a long time, since Christmas at least.
"They've persevered with him for whatever reason, and that's worked out to their advantage.
"The one thing that's obvious is that the team's behind him: you don't go to places like Tottenham and Man City and win, or Liverpool at home when they desperately needed a result, without having great team spirit.
"So that's what Alan's got, he's got a lot of character.
"Sometimes you're going to hit brick walls in football, you're going to lose key players, you're going to sell players you shouldn't sell maybe, that Newcastle did with (Yohan) Cabaye in particular.
"But for Alan I'm really pleased, as an ex-manager of Newcastle, you don't like to see managers just leaving the club every three to six months like some clubs.
"I think the board there have got the rewards for sticking by him: and now they've got to keep it going.
"They are halfway up the table, and they are not that far off the top six now strangely enough.
"They can certainly harness this now to kick on and build again."