GRAEME Souness has promised to re-establish the "Newcastle brand" at the pinnacle of European competition as he prepares to take control of his first game as Magpies boss this evening.

Souness has made ending United's 35-year trophy drought his number one priority since replacing Sir Bobby Robson, and the Scotsman will move a step nearer that goal if he guides his side to victory over Israeli minnows Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin in the opening leg of their UEFA Cup first round tie.

But, while Newcastle are expected to encounter few problems against the first Arabic side to feature in a European competition, their new boss has demanded that they succeed with a swagger.

Kevin Keegan's United side were famously dubbed 'The Entertainers' because of their expansive style, and Souness has already accepted that the Tyneside public will demand a similarly attacking outlook whenever his side appear on home soil.

"I don't see us changing our style whoever we play," said the new Newcastle boss, who won three European Cups as a player with Liverpool. "There's a brand of football that must be played here and that type of football is to get after the opposition and try to score goals.

"I'm a coach that believes there's only one way to play anyway. I believe that - especially with the type of players we've got here - we've got to get after anyone.

"All the games will be the same. We're expected to dictate the play and we're expected to keep the opposition on the back foot.

"We're expected to play our football in and around the opposition's area, and I'm aware of that.

"Every game here will be the same and we know we've got to entertain our crowd."

Entertainment should be guaranteed this evening, with Newcastle lining up against a Sakhnin outfit currently struggling in eighth place in the Israeli Premier League.

Robson's first home game ended in an 8-0 thrashing of Sheffield Wednesday and, while things are unlikely to be that emphatic, it would be one of the shocks of the season if Souness were not to make a similarly successful start.

Complacency could be United's greatest enemy but, after his Blackburn side were humbled by Turkish side Genclerbirgli in last season's UEFA Cup, Souness is aware of the risks posed by some of Europe's supposed lesser lights.

"I'm not taking anything for granted," he said. "Even though we're expected to win.

"We won't take them for granted because, only a couple of years ago, Chelsea went out of this competition to an Israeli team.

"That must be in our minds, and it's important that we start the game correctly so we can keep them on the back foot.

"They will come here to try to frustrate us and to frustrate the fans - that's the standard procedure for a small team coming to a big club.

"The fans might get a wee bit nervous if things don't go well in the first 20 minutes, and that was certainly my game plan whenever I brought a team here. I wanted to keep it 0-0 for as long as I possibly could.

"They'll try to make the fans nervous and make it a difficult night for us.

"We've got to show them respect, because the worst thing we can possibly do is go out there thinking that they're inferior and that it's going to be an easy game."

Souness has had less than a week to prepare his players since the end of his enforced gardening leave but, while he is still getting to know his new charges, he has been delighted with their initial response.

"The first two days have been very encouraging," he said. "Our training has been a bit different to what has gone on in the past, but I think the players have enjoyed it and the response has been good.

"I'm happy with where we are, but we're judged on what happens in games, not in training."

Souness has Nicky Butt available this evening, as the midfielder has recovered from the hamstring injury that kept him out of England's two World Cup qualifiers against Austria and Poland.

Olivier Bernard is also fit again following his ankle problem, while Darren Ambrose returns to the squad for the first time this season.

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