NEWCASTLE United striker Antoine Sibierski is determined to prove he can save Glenn Roeder £10m in the January transfer market.

The free signing from Manchester City has surprised many with his goalscoring prowess - Sunday's strike against Portsmouth was his fifth in just 13 appearances, five of those as a substitute.

When he arrived at St James' Park on deadline day, the move was greeted with a wave of indifference for a player who scored only twice last season.

With his side boasting just nine league goals this campaign Roeder will have a striker at the top of his January shopping list with Everton's James Beattie and West Ham's Marlon Harewood both linked with moves to Tyneside.

But 32-year-old Sibierski wants to earn a regular place in the starting line-up, and is fast becoming a talisman for his manager.

"The only thing I can show Glenn Roeder is that he can trust me when I'm on the pitch," said Sibierski, who is expected to start in the Magpies' final UEFA Cup group match on Thursday against Eintracht Frankfurt.

"The fans didn't expect me to sign. That's why I thank Glenn Roeder because thanks to him I play for Newcastle, and maybe that's why I have no pressure.

"The fans do not expect too much. The club did not buy me for £10m or £15m, but I have to keep my head up because I want to show them that I deserve to play for Newcastle United."

Sibierski felt he wasn't given a chance at Manchester City under Stuart Pearce, and believes Newcastle are reaping the benefits of him playing up front.

The player brought to the Premiership from Lens by Kevin Keegan believes Pearce didn't know where to play him and he was often out of position in a wide role.

"I know my quality, even if I didn't do good things last year because the manager didn't trust me enough. But now I'm happy because I am able to show everyone that I am good enough to play for this club," said Sibierski.

"But I don't care about Stuart Pearce. He is in the past for me. He didn't give me a chance last season, because I think he didn't understand my position on the pitch.

"But that's what Glenn Roeder understands and that's why he asked me to play in this role because he knows it is going to be the best position for me to bring something for Newcastle, and I'm very happy he understood."

The goal against Portsmouth was the Frenchman's first league strike for his new club, and he believes it can be the first of many if he is handed a chance to play.

"The goal is fantastic for me because I scored my first goal. I think this is the most difficult goal to score in the Premier League but now it's done, and hopefully I'm going to have more goals in the Premier League.

"But it's not what I look for every day, the only thing I want to do is enjoy my time at Newcastle. I don't want to disappoint my team-mates, I don't want to disappoint my manager. I've got no pressure and no worries, I just keep playing as good as I can."

* Villarreal are ready to launch a bid for Newcastle's Spanish misfit Albert Luque, who seems almost certain to leave Tyneside in January. Nihat Kahveci has joined former Arsenal star Robert Pires on the long-term injury list and Villarreal are desperate to add numbers to their striking department. With Real Betis hopeful of engineering an initial loan deal for the player, an offer of around £3.5m from Villarreal could force Newcastle's hand

* Newcastle's UEFA Cup opponents, Eintracht Frankfurt, were held 1-1 at home by Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.