Football: Robson will keep Amoebi on right road

Newcastle boss Bobby Robson is determined to keep young striker Shola Ameobi’s feet on the ground as speculation mounts over his future.

Robson is concerned at the attention surrounding his 19-year-old starlet after he was invited to become part of the Nigerian Under-20s squad for the African Youth Championships in Ethiopia in March.

Senior national coach Jo Bonfrere has already mentioned the youngster in dispatches and hinted that he could be considered for a full cap, and there have also been unconfirmed reports that England Under-21 boss Howard Wilkinson is keeping an eye on him.

However, Robson is urging Ameobi to put all the talk out of his mind and concentrate on establishing himself as a genuine first-team player at club level before widening his horizons.

''I’m going to speak to Shola about all of this business surrounding Nigeria,'' he said. ''My personal feedling is that he’s only played a handful of games for us some of which he hasn’t even finished - and suddenly, everyone is talking about international football.

''It just shows how difficult it is for a manager to keep a young player’s feet on the ground with such pressures and attention. It’s ridiculous.

''You’ve got to walk before you can run. If he starts thinking about international football and thinking he’s arrived, suddenly you’re out of the team before you’re even in.

''Concentrate on club football - that’s the message. He has to be a player for us first and foremost. He’s done very well, but slowly is the key.

'He’s played little more than half a dozen games in his first season. I played for eight years before people talked about international football to me!''

Ameobi, whose family moved to Newcastle from Africa when he was a child, has started each of United’s last seven games in the face of an injury crisis which has robbed the club of Alan Shearer, Carl Cort and, until recently, Kevin Gallacher.

He was impressive on debut against Leeds on Boxing Day as he made life difficult for £18m defender Rio Ferdinand, and he scored his first goal in the 3-1 defeat of Coventry a fortnight ago, adding a second in the return trip to Leeds last week.

He initially linked up with England international Kieron Dyer in a new-look strike-force, but that partnership was broken after the clash with Gordon Strachan’s side as Dyer served a two-match ban.

The suspension, perhaps fortuitously, came as the former Ipswich star was laid up with an injury which was initially thought to be shin splints, but has since proved to be not so serious.

Both he and Shearer, who is hoping to make his comeback after knee surgery by the of February, have been working in a swimming pool in recent days to try to build up their fitness levels before they can get back into action.

Dyer was hoping to return to full training today, but that has now been put off until next week on medical advice, and he now faces a race against time to be fit for the trip to Chelsea on Wednesday night.