LAURENT ROBERT came from left field yesterday. Given that he is a winger, the manoeuvre should not have been perplexing, except that the France international used his mouth, not his feet, as the means for an attack.

In a week when Newcastle United have two defining matches, there was no attempt to gloss over the inconsistencies of a wearing season. “We have been very, very bad,” Robert said. It was not an advertisement for good timing.

Tonight, Robert and his team-mates defend a 1-0 lead in the second leg of their Uefa Cup quarter-final against Sporting Lisbon. On Sunday, they face Manchester United in the semi-finals of the FA Cup. Newcastle are within reach of their first significant silverware for 36 years, but their league form has been patchy and controversy has been a frequent companion.

Robert’s attempt to provide context was not the party line — “I’m staying on because the club is moving in the right direction,” Alan Shearer said this month — and, admittedly, the player has a prickly relationship with Graeme Souness, the manager, but his comments were expressed honestly and his exasperation will find echoes among some fans. So, too, would his contention that “if we end up with a trophy, everyone will be happy”.

After losing to Marseilles in the last four of the same competition a year ago, Newcastle finished fifth in the Premiership and while that was hardly the product of a fluent campaign, hindsight lends a rosier glow. At present, they are twelfth and although they recently mustered eight consecutive victories, their past two league fixtures have brought disheartening defeats by Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur.

Charitably, Robert’s frustration could be interpreted as a wake-up call. “Are we better this year than last year? No, I don’t think so,” he said. “Are we the same? No. We are probably worse. I don’t think we are playing as well this season as last and we have not played well in the last three games. We were awful against Aston Villa and we lost at Tottenham while playing poor football.

“We have had to rely on the cups. This is the worst we have done in the league since I came here. It is no good. It is depressing. We have always been in the top four or five, but not now. We have had a difficult season because we changed our manager after the season had begun, but we have to snap out of it quickly. Like last year, we are getting injuries and suspensions at the wrong time.”

The 29-year-old has been substituted in Newcastle’s past seven games and believes that he is being singled out for punishment by Souness, who questions his workrate. “I don’t like it,” he said, “and I don’t like it when the team plays badly. I have not been happy when I have been brought off.

“There is no communication and the manager does not speak to me face-to-face to tell me why he keeps taking me off. He does not tell me when I am playing well and he does not tell me when I am playing badly and neither does his staff. I read that he does not feel that I do enough, but I feel like I have proved myself to him.”

There is also frustration that Newcastle have not been eager to extend his contract. Robert’s deal expires in 13 months and he has threatened to leave on a free transfer if negotiations are not productive. “I still hope to stay at Newcastle,” he said. “Last month there were discussions between my agent and the chairman, but nothing has happened since.”

Where Robert and Souness would concur is on the importance of what stands in front of them. “I would argue and most people would argue that this is the biggest week in our recent history,” the manager said.

VIEWS FROM THE WING

“Laurent Robert said I was picking the wrong team. At the time I was — because he was in it.”
— Bobby Robson

“Robson is a great man and I have a lot of respect for him because he always protects his players. But sometimes we have screaming matches.”
— Laurent Robert

“When I finally get him right I will be 120 years of age.”
— Robson

“The supporters are confused and so are we.”
— Robert on Robson’s tactics

“We have a love-hate relationship. I love him and he loves me, then we want to bash each other up.”
— Graeme Souness

SPORTING LISBON (possible; 4-1-3-2): Ricardo — Rogerio, Beto, A Polga, Rui Jorge — Custódio — F Rochemback, J Moutinho, C Martins — M Niculae, Sá Pinto.

NEWCASTLE UNITED (possible; 4-4-2): S Given or S Harper — S Carr, T Bramble or S Taylor, A O’Brien, C Babayaro — J Jenas, N Butt, A Faye, L Robert — A Shearer, K Dyer.

Referee: P Frojdfeldt (Sweden).

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