Chris Mort is stepping down from his role as chairman of Newcastle United, less than a year after he replaced Freddy Shepherd in July 2007.

It is understood the top City lawyer, who took a year's sabbatical to spearhead owner Mike Ashley's vision for the future at St James' Park, could leave the club within a matter of weeks to return to his role as co-head of law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's leisure arm.

Mort has overseen the transition from the Shepherd era and a restructuring of the club during his chairmanship, and his reign has been far from uneventful.

He initially arrived on Tyneside to work alongside Shepherd, who had earlier sold his shares to Ashley to ease him towards a £134.4 million takeover, but was quickly handed the reins as the former chairman ended his long association with the Magpies.

Sam Allardyce was already in place as manager when the pair arrived, but having overseen his summer recruitment drive, backed by a relatively modest net investment of around £10million, they dispensed with his services in January after a dreadful run of results.

They sprang a major surprise when they replaced Allardyce with Kevin Keegan, and although even he found the going tough in the early stages, failing to win any of his first eight games in charge, the club's Barclays Premier League status was secured long before the campaign drew to a close.

However, it is away from the football side of things that Mort has done much of his work, overseeing a drive to address Newcastle's £100million debt burden and working to improve the club's image both inside and outside the city.

Sir John Hall, the former chairman, admitted that news of Mort’s impending departure did not come as a surprise.

“It was to be expected really. When Mike Ashley took over he hired Chris Mort to head up his negotiating team,” Hall said.

“I think he probably had an agreement to stay and complete the legalities needed to take the club private and consolidate Mike’s takeover. I read in the press the other day that he didn’t want to live in the North East. He’s done his stint and it’s time for him to move back where he was.”

Newcastle are yet to confirm Mort’s departure, or the identity of his replacement. But, significantly, Derek Llambias, Ashley’s long-term associate, was appointed deputy chairman earlier this month and it would be no surprise if his name was high on the list of potential successors.

Hall, who was chairman at the club between 1992 and 1997, also believes Newcastle’s turbulent times are behind them and the fans can look forward to next season with optimism.

“There have been some good games and there have been some terrible games. It’s been a season of mixed fortune,” Hall said.

“I certainly didn’t enjoy it. Some of the games I saw were probably some of the worst I’ve seen in 20 years.

“It’ll be interesting to see where Kevin [Keegan] takes us. You’ve got to hope and believe that Kevin can take us forward, that he hasn’t lost his touch for the game.

“The last six or seven games were quite good under him. Give the people time. It’s a business and you’ve got to consolidate, learn and go forward. I’m sure we’ve done that this season.”