Newcastle youngsters on fast learning curve

Newcastle’s young guns are back in training and ready to further their footballing education in the European big time.

United boss Sir Bobby Robson has worked hard to develop the club’s most promising stars of tomorrow at the same time as buying genuine potential in the shape of players like highly-rated 19-year-olds Jermaine Jenas and Hugo Viana.

And now some of them stand on the brink of being handed the chance to show what they can do on the biggest of club stages, the Champions League.

Newcastle face a two-legged qualifier in August, the gateway to the promised land, and Kieron Dyer, Craig Bellamy, Aaron Hughes, Viana and Jenas, among others, could find themselves heavily involved.

Hughes, one of the few men in the squad to have played in the Champions League - he made his senior debut as a teenager in Barcelona in 1997 - admitted he cannot wait as he and the bulk of his team-mates returned for pre-season training yesterday.

‘‘I’ve had a good rest, but I’m very happy to be back and seeing all the lads again is nice,’’ he said. ‘‘The prospect of Champions League football is something we’re all looking forward to.’’

Shay Given, Andy O’Brien, Dyer and Viana, who were all at the World Cup, will not return to training until July 15, but England Under-21 internationals Jenas and Shola Ameobi, who were on duty at the European Championship Finals in Switzerland in May, are already back in harness.

‘‘These are exciting times,’’ said Jenas, a £5m (€7.8m) signing from Nottingham Forest in February. ‘‘I’ve had a month or so off, but now it’s great to be back with the lads and playing football again.’’

Ameobi added: ‘‘I can’t wait to get started. I haven’t played for a while, so I’m hoping to smoothly get back into things as quickly as possible.’’

Each of the United’s players was given an individual training programme by fitness coach Paul Winsper to keep them ticking over during the break, but now the hard work will start in earnest.

The coaching staff have detailed plans for the way the next few weeks will unfold, and goalkeeping coach Simon Smith in particular is looking forward to the challenge.

‘‘All the staff are raring to go,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s been a good summer and with the World Cup having kept our minds focussed on football, there’s a definite buzz around the place at the moment.

‘‘From my point of view, it was great to see Shay Given perform so well at the World Cup, where he certainly enhanced his reputation.

‘‘We have some first-class goalkeepers at the club and it’s nice too to see Adam Collin joining the senior squad for training. It’s good for the club having promising goalkeepers coming through the ranks and for him personally.

‘‘All the coaching staff have had a number of meetings in recent weeks to plan the pre-season itinerary and we’ve got a good programme worked out.

‘‘From my side of things, we have specific goalkeeping fitness programmes for the four goalkeepers to build up a fitness which is specific to their position.’’