Robbie Elliott is the one remaining survivor from Newcastle's best away result in Europe - a 5-0 win against Antwerp ten years ago. As he prepares for his 14th European game against Sakhnin tonight, he tells Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson of his highs and lows at Newcastle.

IT isn't difficult to remember a time when Newcastle United were a decent advert for the UK Independence Party, such was their absence from Europe.

After losing to French side Bastia in the second round of 1977's UEFA Cup, the Magpies endured a 17-year spell of forced continental isolation.

An ill-advised Anglo-Italian Cup campaign was the sum total of Newcastle's European adventures until the second full season under Kevin Keegan ended in qualification for the UEFA Cup once more.

It seems an eternity ago that Keegan's side stepped off the plane in Belgium to take on Royal Antwerp and, in footballing terms, it is.

Ten years have passed since then but, while the landscape of life at St James' Park has changed immeasurably, one constant remains as United prepare to take the latest step on their European odyssey in Tel Aviv's Ramat Gan Stadium tonight.

Robbie Elliott was a fresh-faced 20-year-old when he was named on the bench for the opening game of Keegan's entertainers' 1994 continental campaign - a memorable 5-0 win in Antwerp that remains Newcastle's record European away win.

His career since has contained more ups and downs than the Galilee hills from which this evening's opponents hail, but the defender will have come full circle when he lines up against Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin tonight.

In total it will be Elliott's 14th European outing in a black and white shirt but, after being frozen out of the first-team picture for almost two years, few had expected the native Geordie to be adding to his tally this term.

He started the season as Newcastle's seventh-choice defender, but a combination of injury and eye infection saw him promoted to the starting line-up for the opening day draw with Middlesbrough.

He hasn't looked back since and, when he runs out at Israel's national stadium this evening, the 30-year-old admits he will take the time to cast a casual thought back to where it all began.

"My first taste of European football was that match under Kevin Keegan," confirmed Elliott, who made his Newcastle debut under Jim Smith in March 1991.

"We played over in Antwerp and played some great football to win the game 5-0. It was an incredible way to start - Rob Lee got a hat-trick and we were formidable that night.

"I've been there from the start because that was our first year back in Europe for a long time. It meant so much to the club to be back in Europe at that time.

"European football is different - they are fantastic nights, especially the midweek nights up at St James'.

"The atmosphere and everything about it is special, and I'm sure the Israeli supporters will try to be as intimidating as possible in their own stadium."

This evening's game is Newcastle's first competitive outing in Israel, a country that has begun to make its mark on European football in recent years.

The national side helped to prevent France reaching the 1994 World Cup finals, and also drew 0-0 in the Stade de France earlier this month, while domestic champions Maccabi Tel Aviv are currently competing in the latter stages of the Champions League.

The Israeli football scene is still something of an unknown to most English fans though, with the country continuing to exude an air of mystery and danger because of the well-publicised internal troubles.

A club like Sakhnin offer a rare insight into one of the most divided societies on earth and, while United's players are locked away in their own training camp for most of the trip, it is impossible for them to shut themselves off from the outside world entirely.

"It's somewhere where you wouldn't expect to be going to play," explained Elliott. "In fact, it's somewhere where you wouldn't expect to be going full stop - but, through football, it's a great opportunity to see a country like Israel.

"These are the trips that you look forward to as a player, even though we're going to be testing ourselves by going into the unknown really.

"It's quite a tight schedule that we're on in terms of training and resting up. We don't get to do the sightseeing side of things, but we're professional footballers and that's not what we're here for."

Instead, the job in hand is to secure Newcastle's passage into the second round of this year's competition.

Their task has been eased considerably by a 2-0 win on Tyneside in the first leg and, while Sakhnin are expected to repeat the physical approach they adopted in the North-East, Newcastle's European experience should prove invaluable.

The Magpies were 90 minutes away from the UEFA Cup final when they lost in Marseille earlier this year, and Elliott is confident last season's run will stand them in good stead tonight.

"We got very close to winning the competition last year and I don't think people gave us enough credit for doing that," he said.

"It's a very strong competition - you only have to look at the sides that have won it over the last few years to see that

"We got very close last year and only lost one game out of 12 in Europe which is quite a record.

"We're trying to get that little bit further this year, but we know we need to be every bit as consistent again."

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