ANGRY Sir Bobby Robson last night accused Middlesbrough of wanting today's Riverside derby to be postponed, writes Clive Hetherington.

Newcastle's visit was called off yesterday on safety grounds after an 11.15am inspection of the terraces and stadium approaches.

The police, safety officals and Stockton referee Jeff Winter all agreed it would be unsafe to stage the game following heavy snowfalls.

But Newcastle boss Robson, whose side climbed to second in the Premiership with victory at Tottenham on Wednesday, stormed: "It's very bad timing for us. I'm quite angry about the game being called off.''

Boro, who lost their unbeaten home record when they crashed to a 5-2 defeat by Aston Villa on Tuesday, were missing key players through injury and illness.

And Robson added: "I don't think there was much will from Middlesbrough about playing this game.

"I think there were reasons other than those that have been stated.

"We even asked for the match to be played next Tuesday, but nobody seems to be interested in that, and that kind of baffles me as well.''

A Boro spokesman said: "Taking into consideration the weather forecast and present conditions, it was agreed the game should be postponed on safety grounds.

"The pitch was playable. The club had taken the precaution of covering it with a pitch cover, which had several inches of snow on it.''

* Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger declared that he had a ''perfect squad'' after putting the finishing touch to his title bid by signing experienced French keeper Guillaume Warmuz, writes MARK BRADLEY.

Wenger has been looking to find a replacement for Rami Shaaban, who has a broken leg, and his move for Brazil international Marcos has been at best delayed until the summer.

Ideally, the Arsenal boss wanted a back-up keeper available for Champions League duty, in case David Seaman or Stuart Taylor was injured.

But with the end of the transfer window looming, he instead signed 32-year-old Warmuz, who appeared for Lens in the competition earlier this season.

The Frenchman, who was a free agent after leaving Lens in December, is available for selection after today's game at home to Fulham. Wenger, who has also deflected interest from Turkish clubs in Kanu, declared: ''Nobody is perfect but I have a perfect squad now."

Read more about Middlesbrough here.