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REVENGE will be in the air when Scunthorpe United are the visitors to St James' Park tomorrow, but Danny Guthrie believes it was the Iron who inadvertently inspired Newcastle United to the brink of promotion.
The Magpies' season has been defined by a series of low points and their reaction to them.
October's 2-1 defeat at Glanford Park threatened to ruin the momentum Newcastle had built up since their 6-1 pre-season humiliation at Leyton Orient. But Guthrie believes their "most painful result of the season" galvanised his team.
CHRIS HUGHTON today admitted he could be forced to make another dip into the loan market after losing Mike Williamson for a month.
Williamson has sustained a freak injury, breaking his hand while exercising at home, leaving Hughton to assess his options for the final 11 games of the season.
A dead leg for Fabricio Coloccini at Middlesbrough highlighted United's lack of defensive options, with Fitz Hall and Hungarian teenager Tamas Kadar ending the game in the heart of defence.
ANDY Carroll will reject the chance to play for Scotland as he feels it is far too early to turn his back on England after just one season of regular first-team football at Newcastle United.
Carroll was not at his best in the 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough at the weekend, but was still in the right place to snatch a late equaliser as he stabbed in Ryan Taylor cross with just eight minutes remaining on the clock.
And the 21-year-old's rapid development under Chris Hughton in the Coca Cola Championship has won him plenty of new admirers, including new Scotland boss Craig Levein who has instigated a charm offensive to try and persuade the big centre forward to play for the senior side north of the border before he gets a sniff of an England call-up.
NEWCASTLE United held Middlesbrough to a draw at the Riverside in a match which the Teessiders dominated.
Despite opening the scoring with a strike by Peter Lovenkrands, Newcastle had the poorer game.
Barry Robson equalised before the break and after a bright start to the second half Boro seemed set to win after Scott McDonald put them in front.
However, Andy Carroll drew the Toon level with just minutes left in the game to leave Newcastle on course for promotion.
I journeyed across the border to Teesside for the Toon's match against Middlesbrough.
To replay my coverage, just click the link below.
Note:
1. FA rules say I can only talk about the game at certain times.
2. We get thousands of people on here each week, and cannot publish every comment.
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4. Enjoy the game.
KEVIN NOLAN has called for Newcastle United to raise the bar even higher ahead of tomorrow's big clash with Middlesbrough.
The Scouser admits that the Magpies have become accustomed to stepping up to the plate in every game in the Coca-Cola Championship this season so far, with every rival team eyeing a scalp.
And the Toon star - who is braced to captain the Mags on Teesside - feels that struggling Boro will be desperate to salvage some pride to prevent their season plumbing new depths.
NEWCASTLE United boss Chris Hughton believes Danny Guthrie will go from strength to strength in his new central midfield role - as he backed him to maintain his newly-discovered goal threat.
Since moving into the centre and disrupting Kevin Nolan and Alan Smith's grip on the midfield engine room, Guthrie has been a revelation, adding creativity to an area that has been solid if unspectacular this season.
Nolan and Smith were the first-choice central pairing for most of the early part of the season but after injuries forced a re-think on Hughton's part, Guthrie flourished in the rout of Barnsley.
DANNY SIMPSON has revealed that becoming the North East's top dogs is still high on Newcastle United's agenda.
But going into the Tees-Tyne crunch clash on Saturday with Middlesbrough, Simpson has warned that winning back a Premier League place is the main thing occupying the minds of him and his table-topping team-mates.
With the season's crucial run-in starting to unfold there still can't be any guarantees either way for either United, Boro or Simpson's old side Sunderland, who despite seeing off Bolton on Tuesday night, still have work to do in order to stay in the top flight.
NEWCASTLE are monitoring Motherwell centre-back Mark Reynolds, The Journal understands.
United boss Chris Hughton was at the SPL outfit's goalless draw at St Mirren on Tuesday night, when reports claimed his watching brief was on keeper John Ruddy, on loan at Fir Park from Everton.
However, with Steve Harper, Tim Krul, Fraser Forster and Ole Soderberg, the Magpies are well-stocked in that area, and it is believed Hughton was instead running the rule over 22-year-old Reynolds.
PETER LOVENKRANDS has revealed an extra incentive to beat Middlesbrough on Saturday, as the Old Firm factor comes into play in the Tees-Tyne derby.
Going into the clash with former Celtic boss Gordon Strachan's side, the Denmark international admits there is a big Glasgow feel to the game with Parkhead figures Willo Flood, Stephen McManus and Barry Robson also likely to be involved.
Rangers legend Lovenkrands enjoyed success on a regular basis in one of the most fiercely contested derbies on the planet and bagged six goals in Glaswegian derbies.
STEVEN Taylor believes the secret to Newcastle United's success this season is they are constantly looking forward, rather than dwelling on the past as they did last term.
Steven Taylor
As part of the team relegated from the Premier League last May, Taylor is well placed to observe the changes since. Being sidelined since January by a knee injury has given him a more detached view of the transformation.
The 24-year-old was given a fillip this week when he was named the city's Sports Personality of the Year by Sport Newcastle. The award reflects the supporters' gratitude that the academy product did not abandon ship after relegation, and how the Magpies have regained their affection after demotion.
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