Newcastle manager picked the very quiet Peter Beardsley as skipper during his first spell in the hot seat, and some felt Pedro needed to be more vocal on the pitch.
But Keegan explained it was the performance on the pitch from the England international that drove his team on ... rather than someone with a big gob shouting and not producing.
Keegan: "We had chances and probably should have won the way we played.
"Michael Owen was superb. He's in a new position for us, linking the midfield and attack and people just don't realise how fit he is.
"The Newcastle fans haven't seen him that much because of injuries but he's come back and played 20-odd games now.
"He's our leader now and covers phenomenal distances during matches. He's a fantastic player and I didn't know how good he is when I had him with England.
"I think he could offer Fabio Capello a real solution in the position he's playing.
"He can win the ball back for us and burst forward into the box. He's scored in his last four matches before this so none of that has deserted him.
"I think Capello, now that he hasn't got to qualify for anything for a while, should take a look at him there when he can.
"People know how I rate Michael and I'm confident he's going to sign a new contract with us and be here for the next three or four years leading us."