A BULLISH Jermaine Jenas is confident that Newcastle can confound convention by finishing the season with a flourish.

In previous campaigns, the Magpies have tended to hit their stride before Christmas, only to falter in the final furlong.

Two seasons ago, Newcastle were still embroiled in the title race in early April, until they were thumped 6-2 at home to Manchester United and went on to win just two of their final half dozen games. Last year, Sir Bobby Robson's side missed out on the Champions League as they failed to win any of their final five fixtures.

Both of those campaigns included impressive pre-Christmas runs but, this time round, United have stuttered somewhat earlier.

Newcastle won just one league game in the whole of November and December - a run which saw them crash into the bottom half of the Premiership.

But, despite seeing two more points slip away at West Brom on Monday night, Jenas remains upbeat about his side's chances over the next five months.

With more new signings expected to follow Jean-Alain Boumsong and Celestine Babayaro into St James' Park, and a glut of senior players poised to return from injury, the midfielder expects Newcastle to enjoy an uncustomary improvement as the season approaches its end.

"In previous seasons we've faded out a little bit in the second half of the season," said Jenas. "We've started quite well in the first half and slipped up a bit near the end.

"This season we haven't had a great start - in fact we've had a very bad start - so it would be nice to finish it strongly. We need to start going on a run because, once we get on that run and players start to come back into the team, it'll give us an extra lift.

"If you look at the team we've got, and the players we've got, we've definitely got the ability to go on a run. If we did get a couple of wins in a row, I wouldn't put it past the team to go on a real run."

If United can kick off a run of victories this month, Jenas is likely to play a central role - both as midfield dynamo and as skipper.

The 21-year-old took over the captain's armband when Alan Shearer was first sidelined earlier this season and, with the striker's calf injury likely to keep him out for at least three more weeks, his leadership qualities will continue to be put to the test.

Jenas' tender years mean he does not command the same instant authority as his illustrious predecessor, but the midfielder insists that his communication skills have helped him to cope with the added responsibility of captaincy.

"I'm different to Alan," he said. "I'm not going to be jumping round ranting and raving, so I like to lead by example on the pitch.

"I'll speak to certain individuals as games go on, but we've got enough experienced players in our team that know enough about the game already.

"We've also got a lot of youngsters and I've been in their shoes. I remember my first game when I came to the club so I can understand what they're going through. It's easy for me to communicate with them as a result."

Boss Graeme Souness clearly values Jenas' input and, after taking a handful of training sessions on his arrival in the North-East, the Newcastle boss had already identified the England international as a prospective leader.

"I'm delighted with him," said Souness. "In the few weeks that I had worked with him, he quickly emerged as the obvious choice in Alan's absence. He's only a young captain, but he leads by example.

"I think he's a super player, but I also think I'm restricting him a bit because I'm asking him to perform a certain role.

"He's got that much athleticism that the holding role is not his best position right now. He's one of those that could play anywhere.''

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