FORMER Israel international Ronnie Rosenthal has insisted that Graeme Souness is the man to "put things right" at St James' Park.

Souness described Rosenthal as his "supersub" during his time in charge of Liverpool, often bringing the striker off the bench in the final quarter of a game as the opposition defenders tired.

Rosenthal was part of the side that beat Sunderland in the 1992 FA Cup final - Souness' greatest managerial moment with Liverpool - before finishing his career with spells at Tottenham and Watford.

And, with the Scotsman's Newcastle career starting with the visit of Israeli side Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin tonight, Rosenthal does not expect it to be long before Souness is adding to his collection of silverware.

"I think he will do well for Newcastle," said Rosenthal, who moved into a football consultancy role when his playing days ended.

"He's gained so much experience in the last six or seven years and I think Newcastle will benefit from that. It's good for players to be managed by someone they can respect and, if you need someone to put something right, Graeme Souness is your man."

Much has been made of Souness' disciplinarian streak since his appointment, and Rosenthal admits the new Newcastle boss is not afraid to speak his mind.

But, if United's players give him their all, the former frontman is confident they will have no cause for complaint.

"I wouldn't say he was strict," said Rosenthal.

"But he has his own way and he sticks to it.

"He can be the nicest person in the world if you are doing your stuff but, if you do things he doesn't like, you will certainly feel it.

"I've certainly had managers who were stricter than him, but he expects things a certain way and he lets you know what that is.

"If you don't oblige then he will be on your back but, as a player, I don't think you can have any complaints about a manager who does that."

Rosenthal was something of a novelty when he first arrived in England on loan from Belgian side Standard Liege in 1990.

But, since then, Israel's footballers have gradually made their mark on the European stage.

Eyal Berkovic has prospered in both England and Scotland, while the Israeli national side famously helped to prevent France from qualifying for the 1994 World Cup finals.

"There's been a massive change in Israeli football over the last ten years," said Rosenthal. "The standard of Israeli players has risen massively and the leading clubs now have squads that can compete with some of the bigger sides in Europe.

"Regular European competition has made a big difference. The leading Israeli sides are now playing in Europe every season.

"You saw when English sides went back into Europe at the start of the 1990s, it took them a little while to get used to playing at that standard.

"The same is true of Israeli sides. It took them a while to get used to the higher standard but now they're there.

"The Israeli sides are playing against the best teams in Europe every season now and they've adapted themselves to be able to cope with that.

"I went to Paris this month and watched the Israeli national side draw 0-0 with France. It was a great result, but the best thing about it was that it wasn't a massive shock."

Anything other than a home win tonight would be a major surprise though, as Newcastle's opponents are the poor relations of the Israeli Premier League.

"I suppose Sakhnin will be operating at a level below the likes of Maccabi Tel Aviv or Maccabi Haifa," confirmed Rosenthal. "But they're obviously in Europe on merit."

And, by becoming the first Arabic side to represent Israel, they have already made history in this season's UEFA Cup.

"Arab-Israeli clubs have been developing and improving for quite a while now," said Rosenthal.

"It's good to see a team like Sakhnin breaking into Europe because it shows what is possible. Jewish Israelis will be playing alongside Arab Israelis and that can only be a positive thing.

"The best thing is that now, any Muslim playing football in Israel knows that if they're good enough, they will be picked for the Israeli national team. That's got to be good for the future."

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