Souness will demand high standards, says Given

GOALKEEPER Shay Given yesterday expressed the hope that Graeme Souness would enjoy the same level of success with Newcastle United as he did when manager of Rangers and Blackburn Rovers.

Given, on international duty with Ireland in Basel, said news of the appointment of the former Scottish international to the job left vacant by the sacking of Bobby Robson had taken him by surprise.

He said: "It was a bit of a surprise the way it all happened because Graeme was not in the front running. The papers were full of Terry Venables' talks with the club and it seemed that he was going to get the job after his second interview this week.

"Graeme did not seem to be in the betting over the past week when several other names were mentioned. I haven't had a lot of dealings with Graeme, because I was long gone from Blackburn when he took over.

"But I have come across him when I played against teams he has managed. That was the extent of it.

"He enjoyed a lot of success with Rangers and then led Blackburn to the League Cup two years ago. He is going to a huge club in Newcastle, a club with a huge support, a huge stadium and huge expectations.

"We need someone to demand high standards and Graeme has always done that as a player and as a manager, so hopefully he can bring us forward and win a trophy."

Souness will have a strong Irish presence in his squad at Newcastle, with three of the current Irish international team in the United defence Given, full-back Stephen Carr and centre- back Andy O'Brien. All three played against Cyprus on Saturday and are expected to play against Switzerland in Basel tomorrow.