WHEN Patrick Vieira's deflected winner looped over Shay Given to end Newcastle's 2004, the miserable manner of the goal summed up the mood of malevolence sweeping across Tyneside.

Graeme Souness, the manager the fans did not want, had been unable to prevent the Magpies slipping to 14th in the Premiership, a position they undoubtedly did not think much of either.

The club's previous 14 games had included just three wins - two of which were against European nobodies Dinamo Tbilisi and Sochaux - while injuries to the likes of Alan Shearer, Patrick Kluivert and Nicky Butt meant that the dreaded "r" word was even being whispered at St James' Park.

Instead of relegation, 2005 has been synonymous with redemption. A season that had looked like ending in disaster could yet finish in unparalleled triumph and Souness, who had been treated like a pariah on his arrival in the North-East, is well on the way to becoming a Geordie great.

If his side win at Portsmouth today they will become the first Newcastle team to win nine successive games in the club's 124-year history.

The turnaround has been remarkable but, while Souness is rightly being credited with leading the revival, other factors have also played their part.

There is little doubt that the manager's January buys have helped. All three have been in and out of the side but, in their own way, the latest additions to the squad have plugged crucial gaps that were constantly being exploited last year.

Doubts remain over whether Jean-Alain Boumsong is really an £8m man but, in the seven games he has played so far, Newcastle have conceded just three goals.

The France international has added athleticism and awareness to a defence that was leaking goals in the first half of the campaign and, just as crucially, his presence also brought the best out of Titus Bramble before a hernia problem brought his recent renaissance to an untimely end.

Celestine Babayaro has looked a better defender than Olivier Bernard when he has been fit, while Amdy Faye has provided the defensive platform that both Jermaine Jenas and, more surprisingly, Butt struggled to establish in his absence.

Souness has also changed his team selection since the turn of the year and by showing faith in Laurent Robert - after plenty of prompting from the Newcastle fans - the Scot has made sure his side carry an offensive option they were denied for large chunks of the autumn.

Robert is one of the few true match-winners Newcastle possess and, in tandem with the rejuvenated Kieron Dyer, the left winger has forced opposition sides to turn their attention to the flanks.

That, in turn, has created extra space in the middle and it is no co-incidence that both Shearer and Kluivert embarked on scoring sprees once Souness went for two wide men in his side.

Shearer's recent form has been as good as anything he has produced in a black and white shirt. His pursuit of Jackie Milburn's all-time record has focused his mind, while the banishment of Craig Bellamy seems to have removed an infuriatingly inconsistent presence that was perhaps more hindrance than help.

Luck has played its part. An 11-man Chelsea could well have finished Newcastle's FA Cup campaign while, against Olympiacos, a bizarre refereeing display undoubtedly paved the way to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.

Souness maintains it is better to be a lucky manager than a good one.

The Newcastle boss could yet prove to be both.