Struggling Newcastle seek cup redemption

Newcastle face a critical period in what is in danger of becoming another season to forget when they play four games across three competitions in 10 days.

The action begins tomorrow with the away leg of their UEFA Cup last-32 tie with Dutch club Heerenveen. They then host league leaders Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday, followed by the Heerenveen return the following Thursday and a home Premier League game against Bolton Wanderers three days later.

The Cup games are vital for a club who began the season with high hopes of a top four Premier League finish but who are 13th after winning just three of their last 16 games. They are 17 points adrift of fourth-placed Everton and nine behind seventh-placed Bolton.

Manager Graeme Souness, who took over from Bobby Robson in September, has struggled to find any consistency and has had to endure his team being booed off the pitch by the disgruntled fans.

"It's an important time of the season, yes, but I wouldn't describe it as make or break," Souness said yesterday.

"The UEFA Cup is a big competition for us and we know we can go a long way to getting into the next round if we do the job properly on Thursday.

"We have Chelsea coming up on Sunday. We gave them a good game in the League Cup before losing in extra time. Then at their place in the league I remember thinking at 90 minutes how we had lost 2-0 - four minutes later it was 4-0. I'd like to think the players will be angered about that.

"We've had the break and we are ready to get back into the swing of things now."

The break he was referring to was last weekend's "bonding trip" to Dubai, which was pronounced a success by Souness despite media reports of alcoholic excess.

Dealing with player misbehaviour has become almost routine for Newcastle, who on Monday issued a statement denying the latest in a long line of claims about the evening antics of England midfielder Kieron Dyer.

Souness acted quickly to offload Craig Bellamy after a public fall-out last month, the Welsh striker was loaned out to Celtic, but St James' Park does not appear the most harmonious of grounds.

The team's performance in the Premier League could be seen to reflect that, as they are left scrapping in the bottom half of the table when their personnel should really have them pushing for a Champions League place.

That is certainly what the fans have come to expect in recent years, even if the statistics tell a different story.