TITUS Bramble last night revealed he has no intention of quitting Newcastle in January - despite not opening negotiations on a new contract with just six months left on his current deal.

The centre back confirmed he has spoken to Glenn Roeder about the situation, with the Magpies manager telling him to prove just how much he wants to remain on Tyneside by the quality of his performances.

The £5m signing from Ipswich has enjoyed a chequered career since moving to the North-East in the summer of 2002, with his highly-publicised lapses of concentration outweighing his obvious attributes of pace and power.

Despite being able to talk to other clubs when the January transfer window opens next month, Bramble insists he has no desire to play elsewhere.

"I have not heard anything about a new contract yet," said the 25-year-old, who is expected to start in the final UEFA Cup group qualifier in Frankfurt tonight. "But I want to stay with Newcastle United.

"It (the contract) is not up to me. I have spoken to the manager and he has told me to go out there, play my football and prove to everyone that I deserve one.

"That's all I can do. The rest is out of my hands but I am determined to show that I should stay a Newcastle player.

"Hopefully something will be sorted out soon."

With Craig Moore's contract also running out at the end of the current campaign, Roeder will want the futures of both players decided before the end of January.

Newcastle's much-maligned defence has conceded just six goals in the last 11 games and the recent problems for the Magpies have been in front of the opposition goal, rather than their own.

Bramble had one of his best games for Newcastle in the 1-1 draw at Arsenal and he feels the praise directed toward Roeder's defence is well and truly warranted.

"It's nice to see the defence being praised," said the former England Under-21 international. "In recent weeks we've played really well as a unit.

"Statistics show we have one of the best defensive records in the Premiership in the last couple of months.

"It's not down to one individual, it's down to the whole team. At Arsenal we proved a lot of people wrong. People expected us to get hammered but we repelled everything they threw at us."

With Moore on Newcastle's extended sick-list with a hamstring problem, Bramble is one of the few central defenders available to the manager.

Roeder has around ten senior players missing but has been boosted by James Milner recovering from the hip problem he picked up against Portsmouth on Saturday.

Milner is another expected starter tonight on the right of midfield and since a deadline-day move to Aston Villa in August fell through he has become an important part of Roeder's plans.

"It's nice to get a decent run in the team," said Milner, who is expected to again be a target for Villa when the transfer window opens.

"I've been lucky enough to get that run this season and hopefully I'm showing my best form.

"It's difficult to get your form when your in and out of the team."