Souness expecting frosty reception

Newcastle boss Graeme Souness heads for familiar territory knowing his reception might be just as frosty from the away end as from the home stands.

The Magpies’ trip to Blackburn, the club from which they lured the Scot to St James’ Park back in September, has assumed greater significance as recent results have sent the Champions League hopefuls hurtling towards the other end of the Barclays Premiership table.

Rovers currently lie three places below the Tyneside club and are six points worse off, but anything other than three points for the visitors will heap further pressure on Souness.

Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at Liverpool left Newcastle with only one win from their last eight league games and a full 13 points adrift of Manchester United, the club sitting in the final Champions League place going into the holiday programme.

Souness was furious with the way his side folded after taking the lead at Anfield, and with skipper Alan Shearer possibly missing until well into the new year with a thigh injury, he knows leadership is in short supply.

“Leadership should be coming from everyone because if you are having a particularly good game, you are then in a position with self-confidence to help others,” he said.

“We have some players who are experienced, we have some younger lads, and you are always looking to the older ones to be the difference when the going gets tough.”

The man wearing the captain’s armband in Shearer’s absence is 21-year-old Jermaine Jenas, one of the few players to perform to his potential during a depressing run of form.

With Arsenal due at St James’ Park next Wednesday and then Birmingham to follow on New Year’s Day, Jenas knows the turnaround must come soon if the Magpies are to achieve their targets for the season.

“We are conceding a lot of goals and that is the main concern throughout the side,” he said.

“We need to start being harder to beat and to start turning games into battles and maybe not football matches, and we need to start digging out results.

“We’ve got a tough Christmas programme and we need to stick together as a group. Already the gap between ourselves and the teams above us is too big and we need to do whatever we can to close it.”

Souness was in limbo in the stands at St James’ the day Newcastle launched the post-Sir Bobby Robson era with a comfortable 3-0 win over Blackburn, and a repeat would be very welcome.

However, the man who brought the Lancashire club a League Cup success during his time in charge knows the points will not be surrendered without a fight.

“Blackburn is going to be a very big day for me,” he said. “I had four very good years there. I enjoyed it there and worked with some great people from the chairman down.

“It is a big game for both clubs. Both clubs are desperate for a win, both clubs are maybe not playing with the kind of confidence they would want at this time, so it is a real pressure game.

“It is stand up and be counted and let’s see what we are all made of.”

Shearer’s absence once again will come as a blow although Craig Bellamy, Kieron Dyer and Patrick Kluivert have shaken off knocks and are expected to be available.

Nicky Butt, Stephen Carr and Ronny Johnsen remain in the treatment room, while Lee Bowyer is suspended, and that could mean another chance for French winger Laurent Robert, whose admission this week that his time on Tyneside could be drawing to a close after being dropped angered his manager.

“He will be in the squad,” Souness said. “I had him in and I told him I would have much preferred if he had come to me and aired his grievances, but it is his choice.”