6:01am Thursday 28th September 2006
GLENN Roeder last night promised not to abandon Titus Bramble but warned the under-fire centre-half he would have nowhere to hide now that Newcastle had embraced the latest technological invention to have been introduced into football.
Despite Sunday's error-strewn display against Everton that culminated in his second-half sending off, Bramble will partner Steven Taylor at the heart of the Magpies defence tonight as Levadia Tallinn visit Tyneside in the first round of the UEFA Cup.
Given that last weekend's aberrations were hardly his first in a Newcastle shirt, Bramble has been fortunate to avoid the axe as United look to defend the one-goal advantage they secured in this month's first leg in Estonia.
While Roeder admitted the centre-half is in a poor run of form, he insisted the defender's previous achievements entitled him to a degree of respect.
Without Bramble's goal against Chelsea on the final day of last season, Newcastle would not be experiencing European competition this evening - something Roeder feels has been forgotten amid the mounting calls for the defender to be dropped.
"When a player is not having a good time, it's easy for his manager to go with the swell of opinion," said the Newcastle boss. "But there comes a time when a player is entitled to look at his manager and say, 'Are you going to show some faith in me?'
"That's where we're at now. Titus is an experienced defender who has not had the best of runs in the last few weeks - the last thing he needs is a manager who abandons him.
"He's had some difficulties and he'll admit that, but it's time for a manager to show faith in him and he'll come through it.
"I can tell you now that Titus will be playing against Levadia, and Steven will partner him at the heart of our defence.
"I'll remain working with Titus because he deserves that. He's made some important tackles and scored some important goals for us in the past. Don't forget, it was his goal that got us into this position in the first place."
Nevertheless, with Taylor having completed his recovery from a long-term foot problem, Bramble can ill afford another slip-up this evening.
The 25-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and, with no new deal having been offered at this stage, is effectively playing for his Newcastle future as well as his place in the team.
In the past, some of his less catastrophic errors might have gone unnoticed but, with the Magpies having recently adopted the Amisco Pro system of player profiling, Bramble has been warned that his every move is being monitored.
Amisco Pro, which is similar to the ProZone system used by other Premiership clubs such as Middlesbrough, monitors every action a player makes during a game.
As a result, within an hour of a match finishing, each Newcastle player will be handed a DVD detailing where they went right or wrong.
"The system gives us incredible knowledge about how a player does in a game," explained Roeder. "It has been installed since the Fulham game and we now have cameras all around the pitch.
"It tells us how far each player has run, how many passes they've made and what they were doing during every minute of the game. It's incredible.
"That's the scientific approach this club takes and it's what I'll be doing with Titus. We'll speak about things, I'll show him things and that's all we can do."
As well as retaining Roeder's support, Bramble also enjoys the backing of his colleagues in the Newcastle dressing room.
Taylor, who will be making his first start for more than a month tonight, has become accustomed to being placed under the microscope as a member of Newcastle's deficient defence.
And while the 20-year-old stopper expressed sympathy for Bramble's current plight, he also admitted that criticism is an unalterable part of life for a defender at St James' Park.
"I knew what it was going to be like, because it's been exactly the same since the (Kevin) Keegan days," said Taylor. "I don't think that will ever change - people will always have something to say about the defence. But if you don't like it, go and collect stamps.
"It's tough for Titus. He's been a vital player for us in the past and put in some great performances. He gets a lot of stick, but the players are right behind him."
Antoine Sibierski's first-leg strike has left Newcastle in the driving seat as they look to book their place in the UEFA Cup's group stage but after Latvian side FK Venstpils pushed them close in the preliminary round, the Magpies will be taking nothing for granted tonight.
"We won't be disrespectful to Levadia," promised Roeder. "They'll come here with nothing to lose and have a real go at us.
"As players, they will think this is their big chance to impress and earn themselves a move to a bigger league. Their players will play above themselves and we have to handle that."
Sibierski is expected to partner Obafemi Martins in attack despite Shola Ameobi's recovery from an ankle problem, while Damien Duff will be on the bench after missing Sunday's draw with Everton because of a thigh strain.
Tim Krul will also be among the substitutes as Shay Given continues to recover from his perforated bowel, but Roeder hopes to have appointed a more experienced goalkeeping understudy by the time the Magpies travel to Manchester United on Sunday.
Former Newcastle shot-stopper Pavel Srnicek, now 38, trained with the rest of the squad yesterday, but Roeder is also understood to be tracking former Rangers goalkeeper Ronald Wattereus.
* Roeder has refused to be rushed into the appointment of a new assistant manager despite the surprise sacking of former number two Kevin Bond this week.
Bond was relieved of his duties on Tuesday, leaving Roeder with just Terry McDermott and Lee Clark on his coaching staff following the recent departure of former reserve-team coach Tommy Craig.
The Magpies manager admits Bond's sudden departure was a "surprise", but insists he is able to cope without him in the short term.
"The club made a statement (on Tuesday) and we can't expand on that," said Roeder. "There is nothing else to say on it at this stage.
"Terry McDermott is a very experienced coach, while Lee Clark is taking his coaching very seriously and is a coach, maybe a manager, of the future."
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