NEWCASTLE boss Graeme Souness will be out to avenge one of the worst nights of his career this evening when Dinamo Tbilisi make their first visit to St James' Park.

The Georgian champions have never locked horns with the Magpies but, more than 25 years ago, they came face to face with their illustrious manager.

In October 1979, Souness was part of the all-conquering Liverpool side that travelled to the Georgian capital looking to book their place in the second round of the European Cup.

The task appeared to be a formality. A little over a year earlier, the Reds had been crowned champions of Europe after beating FC Brugge, they began the competition as clear favourites to lift the crown, and were defending a 2-1 lead from the first leg at Anfield.

While Dinamo were champions of the former Soviet Union, they were a team with limited European experience and devoid of star names.

But, almost from the off, things started going wrong for a Liverpool side containing the likes of Souness, Kenny Dalglish and Terry McDermott.

Firstly, the Soviet authorities insisted that the English club took an absurdly circuitous route to Georgia that involved them first travelling to Moscow before doubling back on themselves to travel south to the Caucasus.

Some of the biggest names in world football were subjected to regular intrusive personal searches which eventually led to the Anfield hierarchy submitting a formal protest about the treatment meted out to their players.

Things failed to improve once they arrived in Tbilisi, with the local population turning out in force to extend a special welcome to their guests.

"We got the usual reception at that time," revealed Souness. "We were woken up in the middle of the night by their fans chanting and singing."

A combination of flaming torches and non-stop chants ensured Liverpool's players were both tired and irritable when they arrived in the cavernous Boris Paichadze Stadium, and what followed was to go down in footballing history.

Rather than cruising to the anticipated win, Souness' side slumped to a humiliating 3-0 defeat that still ranks as one of Liverpool's worst European experiences.

"We fully expected to win every game we played at that time," said the current United boss. "So the result was a massive shock to us.

"We were without Ray Kennedy - so we were a little bit weaker - but there was no argument because we were beaten by a very good team on the night.

"I don't think we were complacent. There were 100,000 people in the stadium all baying for blood, so it's very hard to be complacent in an atmosphere like that.

"I just think it was the kind of wake-up call you get every now and then in football, whether you want it or not.

"What I do remember is that it was a long, long way from home and a long way back."

Dinamo were to achieve an even more notable success the following season when they beat West Ham 4-1 at Upton Park on the way to winning the Cup Winners' Cup.

Since then though, their story has been one of steady decline. Initially formed to raise fitness levels amongst Lavrenty Beria's secret police, Dinamo left the control of the interior ministry as Georgia won independence in 1992.

The newly-privatised club found themselves embroiled in an immediate scandal as their officials attempted to bribe a Turkish referee ahead of a UEFA Cup game with Northern Irish side Linfield and were immediately expelled from the competition.

They did at least manage to win ten consecutive domestic titles - the first European side to do so - before internal fraud left the club close to bankruptcy in 2000.

Prime minister Eduard Shevardnadze intervened, transferring 90 per cent of the club's shares to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and, a year later, the controlling stake in Dinamo was bought by Badri Patarkacishvili.

Patarkacishvili is long gone but his investment paid off on the pitch as Dinamo reclaimed the Georgian title in 2003 and also won the prestigious CIS Cup.

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