Souness delighted with Parker capture

Newcastle manager Graeme Souness has backed new signing Scott Parker to provide the backbone for his side for years to come after admitting he would have loved to mix it with him on the pitch.

Souness, the driving force behind the all-conquering Liverpool midfield of the late 1970s and early 1980s, yesterday got his hands on a man he believes can provide the bite Newcastle have lacked when the Magpies completed a £6.5m (€9.8m) swoop to bring him north from Chelsea.