NEWCASTLE UNITED are ready to make one final attempt to prise Stephen Carr away from Tottenham after losing out to Arsenal in the race to sign Hatem Trabelsi.

Manager Sir Bobby Robson has been courting Trabelsi for months but has failed to convince the full-back to make the switch to St James' Park.

Arsenal have agreed terms with the Tunisian and only a medical stands in the way of him joining the Premiership champions.

That has scuppered Newcastle's hopes of landing the Ajax star, even though the Magpies are thought to have launched a late bid for the defender.

The 27-year-old is due to a sign a four year deal at Highbury and that could happen today. Now Robson, desperate for a right-back before the start of the new season, is having to reassess his options.

Having also been thwarted in attempts to sign Greece's Euro 2004 hero Giourgios Sietardis and Portugal's Miguel, Newcastle look no nearer finding a solution to the full-back problem.

Carr has been a long-term target for Robson and the former England boss would still love to have the Irishman on board before the Premiership opener at Middlesbrough on August 14.

However, with his club Tottenham beginning life under a new manager there is a strong chance Carr would prefer to see how well Spurs do under Jaques Santini.

If Newcastle do miss out then Robson, who turned down the chance to sign Danny Mills, will have to face up to the prospect of having only one player who regularly performs in that role.

Only Aaron Hughes, whose preferred position is at the centre of defence, can be relied on to perform consistently following the departure of Andy Griffin.

But Robson has put plans in place to use players out of position if he fails to strengthen in that department.

Andy O'Brien has been used there in the past as has young defender Steven Taylor. But the manager is also considering playing midfielder Kieron Dyer there.

Newcastle's latest arrival, Patrick Kluivert, has warned his teammates that finishing outside the top four again will not be good enough next season.

The Magpies missed out on a Champions League place last season when they lost out to Liverpool in the battle for fourth spot.

And Kluivert, a former European Cup winner, insists he can handle the weight of expectation on his shoulders after arriving on Tyneside following spells at AC Milan, Barcelona and Ajax.

The Dutchman said: "If you're a striker with the status I have then it's normal to be put under pressure. The Premiership is one of the most competitive competitions in the world. I have played in two big football countries already - in Italy and Spain - and I am looking forward to adding England to this list. Last year Newcastle finished fifth.

"The most important thing is to take the squad a little bit higher. A club like Newcastle should be doing well in the Champions League."

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