GRAEME Souness last night hailed the super-human efforts of midfield dynamo Scott Parker ahead of Newcastle's trip to Manchester City tonight when he admitted he had never met a player like him in his 36 years in football.

The United manager, clearly buoyed by the return of Parker and Emre Belozoglu, was in good spirits prior to his side's Premiership visit to the Eastlands Stadium.

And with the imminent return of Kieron Dyer and Craig Moore - who both trained this week without any reaction to their long-term injuries - Souness is confident the club can enjoy a prosperous second half to the season.

The 52-year-old Scot revealed how his £6.5m signing from Chelsea last summer had to drag himself out of bed to take his place in the Magpies' line-up against Cheltenham last Saturday.

Parker was suffering from an upset stomach prior to the FA Cup fourth round tie at Whaddon Road and needed an injection to get him through the game.

The former Charlton and Chelsea star had missed the club's last four fixtures after suffering a knee injury against Tottenham Hotspur on New Year's Eve, which meant he had to go under the surgeon's knife to remove floating cartilage.

"The fact he played when not fully fit reflects the character of the player," said Souness, who looks to record his first Premier League victory in six games tonight.

"He wears his heart on his sleeve and you can see what he is on the pitch. I think supporters realise he is someone who gives everything. I don't think I can think of anyone else like him and I've never worked with someone like him.

"He plays to the point of exhaustion. I'm thinking of that incident against Arsenal when he was on the ground just in front of the dug-out. He looked up as if he'd been shot. It was: 'that's it, I can't give anymore. I've given everything.' I've never witnessed that before.

"Players like him are few and far between. They are very special players. I think the majority would not have played the way he was feeling on Saturday but he got through 70 minutes."

When Parker joined United from Chelsea last summer many deemed he had been a failure at Stamford Bridge after failing to hold down a regular first team place. He made only eight Premiership starts in 18 months following his £10m transfer from Charlton.

But Souness believes his rejection by the west London aristocrats was in no way a disgrace.

He said: "If there's a club right now, maybe in the history of the game, rejection by Chelsea means less than rejection anywhere else given the size and quality of their squad.

"The way he has reacted is typical of him. I wouldn't enjoy playing against Scott Parker because no matter what you're doing to him, he's just going to come back for more. That's how he leads his life. He is a proper man, a proper character."

Parker has always played down any premature talks of a return to the international arena. And the 25-year-old midfielder, who won the last of his two caps for England in the 1-0 defeat in Sweden two years ago, has virtually written off any chance of a recall to Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad for the World Cup.

Parker's central midfield partner Emre believes his colleague can count himself unfortunate that England have an embarrassment of riches in his position, but Souness believes he could be accommodated.

"I have never been an international manager but I have been involved in three World Cups,'' he said. "And when you're picking a group of players to go there, you look at teams you are drawn against and there might be games where a Scott Parker might be extremely useful to England.

"It's not all about going out chasing games and playing silky attacking footy. Sometimes you might have to bring someone like Scott on to do a job in a certain area against certain opponents and there's no-one better."

The Magpies face Stuart Pearce's City side tonight with Souness admitting he once tried to sign the former Nottingham Forest hardman when he was Glasgow Rangers' boss in the late 1980s.

The Scot was initially encouraged by Brian Clough but the following morning the former Forest legend had a change of heart.

The January transfer window closed at midnight last night and there was no flurry of activity at St James' Park.

The coffers are bare after a £50m Souness spending spree during his 17-month tenure.

The Newcastle manager did reveal, however, that tentative inquiries were made about Robbie Fowler's availability prior to his move back to Liverpool last Friday.

"I spoke to his agent, George Scott, a Scottish guy I know very well, when he was on holiday in Cyprus," admitted Souness.

"But that's as far as it went. I just asked about his situation. I'm an enormous admirer of Robbie Fowler.

"I know there are people who think he hasn't achieved what he could have achieved but I would say he is up there with anyone else in terms of being able to sniff goals - as good as anyone I have ever witnessed.

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