Robson's status enhanced as Newcastle take extra step

Magpies exceed expectations as youngsters glean vital experience

In the afterglow of victory, his interviews done, Robson lingered in the press room of the De Kuip stadium, chatting to those journalists who had known him during his stint in charge of PSV Eindhoven. It would have been a sweet moment since, although he won the Dutch league twice, Robson was regarded as something of a failure on the European stage with PSV. This time the Newcastle manager was able to leave the Netherlands with his reputation restored and the credibility and financial position of his club enhanced.

Whatever happens now, and Newcastle will have to face two of the big-hitters from Spain and Italy when the draw for the second group phase is made today, their Champions' League campaign will be counted as a success. They would have settled for third place in Group E and qualification for the Uefa Cup and when the final whistle blew on their 3-2 win over Feyenoord that is what Robson thought had happened. Only later was he told Juventus had won in Kiev.

His chairman, Freddy Shepherd, called this "the biggest game in Newcastle's history". Although Craig Bellamy's 90th-minute winner has earned his club an estimated £6m, in financial terms it is probably not; beating Zeljeznicar in August to gain entry to the competition proper was more valuable. However, in terms of enhancing the credibility of Newcastle United, there has not been a game like it since they won the Fairs Cup in 1969.

"We are in the last 16 of the Champions' League and it is important that we made this kind of statement," said Shepherd. "It means we have taken that extra step. Bobby needed a lift; he has been poorly with broken ribs [sustained after a fall at home] and this is the best prescription any doctor could have written."

It is likely Shepherd will be asked to spend some of this additional Champions' League money before it has been received. That Newcastle qualified with a defence which has driven Robson to the brink of distraction and kept one clean sheet in six Champions' League encounters is as remarkable as the fact that they won through after losing their opening three matches.

The Newcastle back four does not lack for guts, as Nikos Dabizas proved with a heroic last-ditch block on the line and it was a defender, Andy Griffin, who began the resurgence with the only goal against Juventus at St James' Park. However, as Feyenoord and others have proved, they are sometimes horribly fragile and Robson confessed they struggled to cope with the introduction of Mariano Bombarda.

The club needs a blue-chip centre-half when the transfer window reopens in January to stiffen their defence for the last four group games and the final four months of the Premiership. Shepherd indicated that any request for squad strengthening would be looked at favourably. "We have always backed our managers with money," he said. "No manager of Newcastle could say we have not stepped up to the plate."

While reflecting on one of the finest evenings of his club career, Gary Speed injected some sobriety into the celebrations, arguing that Newcastle could not afford to be as lax against the Valencias and Milans as they were after roaring into a two-goal lead on Wednesday.

"When it went to 2-2, I thought we had thrown it away," said the Wales captain. "When we went two goals up, Feyenoord used four attackers and got a goal back quite quickly. We have to learn to soak up pressure without giving goals away because the big Italian and Spanish clubs will punish us.We must be more astute."

Like his captain, Alan Shearer, Speed returned from Turin after a third consecutive defeat convinced Newcastle's Champions' League campaign was over before it had properly begun. Instead, they improved with every match.

Feyenoord were the first team Newcastle played on their way to winning the Fairs Cup and, after a 4-2 aggregate victory, their chairman, Lord Westwood, told the club captain, Bob Moncur, that "this team is daft enough to go on and win the competition". Not even Moncur thought they would repeat the feat, although, with young players of the talent of Hugo Viana, Kieron Dyer and Jermaine Jenas, Newcastle are capable of upsetting any odds in a single match. The average age of Robson's side is 23.

"The experience these lads will have had from this is marvellous," Speed said. "The talent is there for the club's future to be secured. These young lads have to keep their feet on the ground and keep improving." It would be very difficult for anyone connected with Newcastle to have his feet on the ground yesterday but, after one last-minute goal, Tyneside's football future suddenly looks very bright.