No way back for Bellamy, says Souness

GRAEME SOUNESS has warned Craig Bellamy not to hold his breath if he is hoping to return to Newcastle from Celtic.

The 25-year-old Welshman completed a loan move to Parkhead until the end of the season after rejecting the chance to join Birmingham in a £6m permanent transfer and later suggested he could still have a future on Tyneside.

But Souness, who insisted last week that Bellamy would never play for the club again as long as he remained in charge, insists nothing will change over the remaining months of the season.

The loan deal means the former Norwich and Coventry striker is still a Newcastle player and technically could return to St James' Park in May to serve out the remainder of his contract, although the Bhoys do have an option to make the move permanent.

It means that a situation which reached the point of no return when the Welsh international called his manager a liar on live television is still ongoing.

Asked what would happen in the summer, Souness replied: "We'll address it then."

But pressed on whether his vow that Bellamy will not pull on a black-and-white shirt again during his reign still stands, the Scot replied: "One hundred per cent.

"I stand by everything I said. I think I'm like anybody else in this world there are certain things you can forgive and some things you can forget.

"But I'm also experienced enough in this business to know that if I'd been seen to be weak in this situation there was no future for me with the players in the Newcastle dressing room or any job that I go to after Newcastle United, so I was put in an extremely difficult position."

As a result, Newcastle will spend the next few months striving to rebuild a strike-force which will be ripped apart by the summer.

Bellamy's seemingly inevitable departure along with Alan Shearer's retirement plans and Patrick Kluivert's failure so far to make the anticipated impact could leave just Shola Ameobi to carry the fight into the new season.

The search for Shearer's successor has been ongoing for some time, and there is little doubt chairman Freddy Shepherd will again have to invest heavily if Newcastle are to compete at the level they want.

Souness was as pragmatic as ever as he prepared his side for tonight's Premiership trip to Manchester City, insisting that the Bellamy situation has not distracted him in any way.

"I've been concentrating on football," he said.

"I wasn't directly involved in any of the transfer talk that went on, so I've just been doing my job."

The loss of Bellamy and contract rebel Olivier Bernard, who joined Southampton on a short-term contract, has reduced Souness' squad but he is able to welcome back midfielder Nicky Butt for the trip to his home city.

Lee Bowyer is also back in contention after a groin strain, while £8m defender Jean-Alain Boumsong could return from a hamstring problem at the weekend.