GRAEME Souness has urged Titus Bramble not to throw away the best opportunity of his career after insisting the error-prone centre-half still has a future at St James' Park.

Bramble's only first-team appearance this season came in last week's Carling Cup win over Norwich and, after missing the first two months of the campaign with a hamstring injury, the 23-year-old has slipped behind born-again Robbie Elliott in the United pecking order.

He is likely to return to the starting line-up as Newcastle entertain Dinamo Tbilisi in the UEFA Cup tonight but, with Souness sure to bring in defensive reinforcements in January, Bramble's position has been called into question despite the £10m sale of Jonathan Woodgate in August.

The former Ipswich defender has failed to live up to his potential since moving from Portman Road two-and-a-half-years ago, with a series of on-field blunders being accompanied by off-the-pitch indiscretions.

With Kieron Dyer also being linked with a New Year move from Tyneside, Newcastle's so-called 'brat pack' is in danger of being ripped apart.

And, while Souness maintains he has not earmarked any of his squad for the January sales, he has warned his more erratic stars that the time has come for them to deliver.

"Titus is a young lad who now has quite a bit of experience of playing at this level," said Souness, who will be looking for his side to build on last month's 1-0 win at Panionios. "He's played Premier League and European football and he's been around.

"He's coming to an age now where he should start to put some of the problems he's had in the past behind him - both on and off the pitch.

"I would say to him 'Where do you go after this football club?' He's playing at the highest level, playing at one of the best clubs in the world and he has to work that out for himself.

"If he doesn't grasp the chance that he's got at the moment, he'll regret it for the rest of his life - and he's not alone in that."

Dyer will not feature this evening as he continues to recover from his hamstring problem and, with Sunday's Premiership game with Fulham also likely to come too soon for him, the midfielder's long-awaited return should come in next week's Carling Cup clash with Chelsea.

The England international has been linked with a move to Jose Mourinho's side this week but, while Souness admits he is interested in taking Robert Huth to Tyneside and is monitoring Michael Dawson's position at Nottingham Forest, Dyer's future has not been discussed during preliminary discussions with the Blues.

"There was initial contact with Chelsea when Sir Bobby was here," said the United boss. "And, since I've been here, the chairman has made another phone call to Chelsea enquiring about the availability of Robert Huth.

"But Kieron Dyer was not mentioned in that conversation. The Dyer connection has come from somewhere in London - it certainly didn't originate from anybody at this club.

"I went to watch Dawson play for Nottingham Forest against Watford - I was just checking on him as I see him as one for the future. As far as Newcastle are concerned, I have one eye on today and the other on tomorrow."

Bramble is unlikely to be the only change from the side that lost 2-1 at Bolton on Sunday, with Newcastle's squad about to pushed to the limit by a run of four home games in the space of just 11 days.

Shay Given could be rested and replaced by Steve Harper, while both James Milner and Laurent Robert should return in place of Darren Ambrose and the suspended Nicky Butt.

Patrick Kluivert could also line up alongside Shola Ameobi but, whatever side he puts out, Souness insists he will not be taking tonight's Georgian opponents lightly by indulging in squad rotation.

"I don't like the word rotate," he said. "We'll be fielding a team that we think are strong enough to take care of Tbilisi.

"We have to get back to playing the football we were playing prior to Sunday and we have to entertain our supporters.

"We're approaching four home games and our fans are going to have to dig deep to come to all of those games.

"We have to make sure that, when they come to them, they go away with a feeling that the lads have had a good go for them.

"We're playing against a team who have lost already in this competition to Sochaux and it's a win or bust situation for them."

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