Robson aims to exorcise his demons

BOBBY ROBSON admits a shiver will run down his spine when he returns for the first time to the scene of his biggest footballing disappointment tonight.

A little more than 12 years ago, the then England boss saw his dreams of World Cup glory torn apart at the semi-final stage in a dramatic penalty shoot-out at the Stadio delle Alpi as Germany edged past his brave troops in the cruellest of fashions.

The pain of that fateful evening in Italy when Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle suffered the devastation of missing from the spot may have subsided , but the memory remains etched on the mind of the 69-year-old Pearce got his chance to exorcise the demon with his Euro 96 shoot-out heroics; Robson's opportunity comes, perhaps fittingly, as he returns to Turin hoping to unseat the mighty Juventus and bank Newcastle's first points in their latest Champions League campaign.