FA Premiership: Kevin Keegan acknowledged for the first time yesterday thathis job was on the line. He used words such as "unfair" and "harsh" and accused the Sun newspaper of waging a deliberate campaign to remove him from power but, ultimately, Manchester City's manager admitted their poor form had brought him to the edge of being dismissed.

"I've never been sacked before and I don't know how it feels. But if you're asking me whether I feel under threat, I would have to say yes," he said. "My position is under threat already and we've not even come to the game (at Crystal Palace today). We've taken only four points from our first five games, three of which have been at home. So if I said no, it would look as though I was being dismissive and unrealistic. The buck stops with the manager and nobody at this club can be happy with our results."

Keegan insisted he would not resign. "I'll stick this out. If we beat Palace we're in the top half of the table and the circus will move out of town. But if results don't go well we'll see what happens. I'll give it my best shot and if it doesn't work out I'll go back to my family."

Keegan has lost the confidence of many fans but he still has the support of the chairman John Wardle and joint-majority shareholder David Makin.

Makin sits with the supporters and has indicated he will call time on Keegan only if the fans turn against him. Wardle was at the training ground yesterday and though he did not want to speak publicly on Keegan's behalf this was simply because it might be construed as "the dreaded vote of confidence".

"I've got a terrific relationship with my chairman and that will continue even when I leave this club," said Keegan.

"All the supporters I meet are telling me to keep my head up. But then again I know there are fans out there who are not happy with the way things are going. If John Wardle taps me on the shoulder and says 'thanks but no thanks' I will be distraught but I will understand."

Privately, Wardle has been willing to express his support for Keegan. The club have also backed Keegan's claims that the Sun is increasing the pressure on him because of a dispute between the former England manager and its editor Rebekah Wade, who was in charge of the News of the World when he sued it in 2001.

"The Sun took a cheap shot by saying Keegan would be sacked," said a boardroom source. "It might as well have been Rebekah Wade's byline on the story."

"I took the woman to court and it cost them a lot of money," said Keegan, who banned the Sun from his press conferences because of its coverage of Marc-Vivien Foe's death.

"People hold grudges. There are people there who want to see me fall. I know guys at the Sun and they cringe about what's happening. I'm not paranoid, but what everyone asks for is fairness."

Perhaps most damagingly, several players have castigated the manager in off-the-record briefings, sometimes with vitriolic criticism. Keegan is well aware of their identities but denied that he had "lost" the dressing-room.

"I don't think there's a manager in the league who could say, honestly, that he doesn't have a problem with a player," he added.

The dressing-room dissent has been rumbling since last season when Keegan's players asked him for fewer days off and more rigorous training sessions. It was not their intention to undermine him, but it did so anyway.

Likewise, Danny Mills felt the need to seek a private meeting with Keegan this week to explain his unhappiness with their preparations. Mills has involved solicitors after this was reported as a training-ground bust-up. Robbie Fowler, meanwhile, will probably be dropped today.

Keegan's inclination is to be optimistic but, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle to come in the next month, he is bracing himself for the worst.

"Am I disappointed with where we are? Yes. Am I surprised I'm under pressure? No. I've been in the game a long time and whatever happens next won't surprise me. It might hurt my family and my friends but it won't surprise me."