GARY SPEED last night admitted he was "embarrassed'' by the booing that greeted Hugo Viana's introduction in Newcastle's bitterly disappointing draw with Wolves.

The 21-year-old Portuguese midfielder has failed to live up to expectations since Sir Bobby Robson signed him from Sporting Lisbon two years ago in an £8.5m deal.

Fans held him partly responsible for the UEFA Cup semi-final defeat in Marseille last Thursday when he missed a header before Didier Drogba struck the first of his two killer goals.

Winger Laurent Robert, another Robson recruit at £9.5m from Paris St. Germain in the summer of 2001, was booed off against Wolves - and Viana received the same treatment when he replaced the Frenchman.

Veteran midfielder Speed, 34, confessed: "I don't think I have experienced anything like that before. He's a young lad from another country, and a great lad.

"I felt awful for Hugo. I felt embarrassed for him. Nobody should go through that, especially somebody like him.

"Hugo showed what he can do against Chelsea the other week. He was one of our best players against a top team. I know more than most that you can't play well every week. I thought the treatment of Hugo was unfair.

"It's the same for Laurent. Everybody has their agenda on him, but he's part of the team and if you're booing him, you're booing all of us.''

Speed also launched a staunch defence of Robson, who is coming under intense pressure as the Magpies desperately attempt to salvage some reward from the wreckage of their season.

The Welsh international said: "It was well documented what situation the club was in when the manager came here five years ago. If you sit back and take the whole picture, everybody knows what he has done for the club.

"There are times in every manager's reign when not everything is rosy. The best managers in the world get stick at some time.

"It's part of the job, but if anybody can deal with it and come through it, it's the gaffer. We are a team - us, the manager and the backroom staff - and we have the spirit to get the results we need.''

Newcastle's lap of honour at the end of Sunday's final home game of the season was awkward and subdued, with the ground only around a quarter full.

But Speed said: "We went around the pitch and applauded the fans who were still there. I can understand the fans being upset because we are upset as well and I understand them being frustrated because we feel the same.

"We could not believe that everybody thought it was over, that we were out of it. If we had been in mid-table, there would have been a full house. It's because we are in touching distance of winning something and it seems to be slipping away.

"The fans won us the game against Chelsea the week before. If it hadn't been for them we wouldn't have won the game. A week later it's totally different.

"But the only thing that has changed after the Wolves game is that we have to beat Southampton, because we always knew we'd have to beat Liverpool in the last game.

"We believe we can go to both and get wins. Nobody else does - the fans don't - but we do.''