KEVIN Keegan will make Tottenham defender Michael Dawson his first signing of the summer - provided Newcastle are still playing in the Premier League next season.

With Saturday's 2-0 victory over Fulham having eased the Magpies' relegation fears, Keegan is plotting a summer rebuilding programme that could see as many as six or seven new faces arrive at St James' Park.

The Magpies manager retains the final say over transfer matters, despite the appointment of both Dennis Wise and Tony Jiminez in recruitment-related roles last month.

With his side having already conceded 57 Premier League goals this season, Keegan's priority will be to reorganise his defence.

Dawson will be his number one transfer target, and sources in London suggest the Northallerton-born England international is likely to be receptive to Keegan's advances.

The 24-year-old has slipped down the Spurs pecking order following the arrival of former Middlesbrough centre-half Jonathan Woodgate, and Juande Ramos has hinted that he will enter the transfer market himself this summer to provide cover for Woodgate's preferred partner, the injury-prone Ledley King.

That would push Dawson even further out of the picture, and the former Nottingham Forest trainee may well conclude that his prospects would be much brighter as a regular starter at St James' Park.

Sir Bobby Robson came close to signing a teenage Dawson before the centre-half moved to White Hart Lane in 2005, and Keegan shares the former Newcastle manager's high regard for the defender's skills.

Tottenham are likely to demand more than £6m for Dawson's services, but with Magpies owner Mike Ashley having reaffirmed his willingness to splash the cash this summer following a season of chronic under-achievement, Keegan will be in a position to meet Spurs' valuation.

The Newcastle boss will also be overseeing a number of departures from Tyneside this summer, but while a proportion of the playing staff will be deemed surplus to requirements, Keegan will fight to keep coach Steve Round, despite a likely approach from Everton.

Everton boss David Moyes, who has been working without a number two since his former assistant, Alan Irvine, left to become manager of Championship strugglers Preston last November, has identified Round as his ideal right-hand man at Goodison Park.

Round, who worked alongside Steve McClaren at both Middlesbrough and England, is one of the most highly-rated young coaches in the English game, and while Keegan was willing to let Nigel Pearson leave last month, the Newcastle boss will do everything in his power to prevent the 37-year-old also jumping ship.

However, with Chris Hughton having recently been handed a wide-ranging coaching role following his appointment to the Magpies' backroom staff, Round may opt to take up a formal No 2 role on Merseyside.

Hughton's primary responsibilities relate to Newcastle's defence, and the former Tottenham coach will have been delighted to see United record only their fifth Premier League clean sheet of the season against Fulham.

Abdoulaye Faye atoned for his mistake against Birmingham with an accomplished display, and left-back Jose Enrique produced arguably his best performance since last summer's move from Villarreal.

Enrique has struggled to adapt to the unique demands of the Premier League following his £6.5m move from La Liga, but having started Newcastle's last four league games, the 22-yearold feels he is finally finding his feet.

"I feel I am getting better," said Enrique, who helped Villarreal win eight games in a row at the end of last season. "It has been difficult at times. Having one game in the team and one game out is hard.

"To have a run of games brings me a lot of confidence and, little by little, things are getting better. For me, the first thing you need to do is communicate, and that's hard for people to understand. Now I am learning English, things are better."