Robson proves the value of a good shake-up

In the afterglow of victory, Sir Bobby Robson fixed the members of the Italian media with an icy glare. He had been labelled "a cretin" in Gazetta dello Sport for joking that it would help Newcastle United if Marco di Vaio suffered a similar injury to the one he endured in Turin that forced the Juventus striker out of the match midway through the first half. Robson complained that he had been "misrepresented" and perhaps you can now say the same about his team.

Until they overcame the Italian champions on Wednesday night, Newcastle's results, if not their performances, had been a source of embarrassment on Tyneside, proof that this young, talented, but sometimes naïve side was not ready for the rigours of the Champions' League. Now, with Kieron Dyer due to return, they have a slender chance of qualifying for the second group stage.

The difficulty is not just that Newcastle have to win their two remaining fixtures, at home to Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday and away to Feyenoord; but that others have to lose. Even if Kiev are overcome at St James' Park, Robson would still have to rely on winning in Rotterdam and hoping Juventus do not lose in Ukraine. Since Juve have not won an away game in Europe in 18 attempts, this may be putting too much faith in Marcello Lippi's side, although their last victory, in March 1998, was in Kiev.

Nevertheless, whatever the final outcome, this is a match that has revived a season that even domestically was in danger of collapse. Last Saturday, still only five points clear of the relegation zone, Newcastle delivered a shambolic display at Blackburn for which Shay Given paid with his place.

Ever since he kept faith with a misfiring Aberdeen side and lost a League Cup final replay to Dundee United, Sir Alex Ferguson has preached the value of shaking up a faltering team when a result is desperately required. It is why, a decade on, Jim Leighton was sacrificed for Les Sealey in the 1990 FA Cup final replay with Crystal Palace. Robson denied that replacing Given with Steve Harper, who had not started a Premiership match since January 2001, was a gamble, even though the last time the Ireland keeper had been left out for any length of time, he had handed in a transfer request.

His manager did not anticipate a repeat. "Shay is fine. He is in good spirits and is delighted for Steve. There's not a transfer request in his head," Robson said and since Given and Harper are close friends, this may not be a managerial euphemism.

"It was important for Shay to have a break. He played all of last season, then went to the World Cup and was then involved in the Roy Keane saga, which must have been a hair-raising experience."

You might say the same about keeping goal behind Newcastle's back four, although on Wednesday with Titus Bramble, whom Robson claimed had been the victim of a "witch-hunt" by journalists and supporters on Tyneside, stepping into the space vacated by the suspended Nikos Dabizas, they delivered perhaps their best performance of the season.

"He came through it well and, for a 21-year-old, his distribution is as good as any defender in the Premiership," Robson said. "We knew we could not let Del Piero turn and every run he made we had to be with him. Nedved was not as threatening as in Turin."

Robson's other hunch, preferring Jermaine Jenas to Hugo Viana as Dyer's replacement, also worked. Before the game, Gary Speed had pointed out that Newcastle's midfield is so bent on going forward that he is usually the only one available or able to break up counter-attacks. Against Juventus, the Wales captain was joined in the trenches by the 19-year-old. "I have said to Jenas that he sometimes looks for the more difficult ball when an easy pass will do," Robson said. "Because of that he often gets caught in possession. I have told him to play the simple pass because simplicity is genius."