In the 2nd round of the Champions League you’ve got Barcelona, Inter and Leverkusen. What are your impressions of Group A?

It’s tough but I think that’s great. It’s tremendous to meet big clubs such as Barca or Inter even if it will prove difficult. But really, after the events of the first round, we can believe in ourselves and in our chances. After opening with three defeats but finishing with three wins we are true survivors. That shows for me that, quite simply, Newcastle is a strong team. There is quality in the squad as everyone saw on Wednesday against Feyenoord and teams will have to get the better of us to knock us out.

But your qualification for the 2nd round was still achieved with great difficulty…

That’s right and I must thank Juventus for giving 100% right until the end of the very last game. Having already qualified they could quite easily have taken the Kiev match easily. But in the end, having fallen behind, they pushed for the equaliser and found enough to go on and get another. Thanks to Bellamy’s goal in injury time against Feyenoord, we earned our ticket to the second phase.

Have you ever played against Barcelona or Inter?

Never. I played against Barca when I was at Montpellier but it was their B team. So it will be a huge premiere!

The first match is against Inter on November 27th at St. James’ Park. In all probability you’ll miss this game due to your fractured cheekbone.

Well, I’m going to call my surgeon this afternoon. I saw him in Paris yesterday but since I came back to Newcastle this morning I’ll have to give him a ring to see how he feels about things. If necessary, I’m prepared to play with a mask. But as the game is less than two weeks away I’m worried that it’s a bit too close. Either way, I’ll be ready for the Barcelona game on December 10th.

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