ALAN Shearer has urged his Newcastle team-mates to grasp their "chance of greatness" when they take on Marseille for a place in the UEFA Cup final tonight.

The Magpies are just 90 minutes away from their first European final appearance for 35 years after holding the French side to a goalless draw on Tyneside two weeks ago.

Newcastle are unbeaten in six European away games this season and, if they can score and avoid defeat against Marseille tonight, they will book their place in the final in Gothenburg later this month.

Their fine European form contrasts with a woeful away record in the Premiership that has seen the Magpies win just two games on their travels all season.

That run culminated in last weekend's 1-0 defeat at Manchester City which saw United drop behind both Liverpool and Aston Villa in the race for a Champions League place.

But domestic disappointments have been temporarily shelved and Shearer is desperate to write another chapter in Newcastle's book of European exploits, thus ensuring that a fraught season finishes on a high.

"We've got the chance to make the season great, but there's also the chance that it could be bitterly disappointing," said the Magpies skipper ahead of last night's training session at the imposing Stade Velodrome.

"There's nothing in between - it will either be great or disappointing. We've got the chance to make it great and we have to take it. This is crunch time.

"It's the most important ten days of the season. There have been FA Cup semi-finals and finals in the past and those are important but, without a doubt, this is a big time of the season for us.

"We want to win a trophy - that's what we're in this competition for. It's what we set out to do at the start of the season and it hasn't changed.

"There were one or two words said after the Manchester City game as there always are when things haven't gone well.

"There have been so many disappointing results this year, particularly away from home, but, fortunately, in Europe it hasn't happened. We have to make sure it doesn't happen now."

There was little to choose between the two sides at St James' Park but, while Marseille will have the advantage of a capacity 60,000 crowd to cheer them on, Newcastle know their opponents will need to score twice if they can find the target.

An away goal could prove particularly crucial this evening and Shearer is adamant that the Magpies will be doing everything they can to get one.

"We are going to try to win the game because we can't play any other way at Newcastle," said the in-form frontman, who tops Newcastle's all-time list of European goalscorers with 17 goals. "We can't go into a game looking for a draw.

"If a draw comes along then that's fine. I think we can score a goal here but it will be tough.

"They've got one or two players back from injury, we've got one or two players missing with injury, but we will cope with that, as we did against Chelsea, and I believe we can do a decent job."

Craig Bellamy, Jermaine Jenas and Kieron Dyer are all ruled out of the game, but United have been boosted by the return to fitness of midfielder Lee Bowyer.

Bowyer has recovered from the hamstring injury he picked up in the dying minutes of the recent 0-0 draw at Aston Villa and is ready to finally end a season of European misery.

The England international missed the first six games of Newcastle's continental campaign because he was suspended following a stamping incident with Malaga midfielder Gerardo in December 2002 while with his former club, Leeds United.

Bowyer should have returned for February's third-round clash with Valerenga, but an administrative mix-up meant he was effectively forced to serve the ban all over again. Another six games on and the 27-year-old is finally eligible to make his European bow for the Magpies and, while his Newcastle career has stalled because of his protracted spells on the sidelines, he is desperate to finally draw a line under the whole episode.

"Of course it's frustrating the way things have gone for me in terms of the European ban," said Bowyer. "But sometimes you get dealt a bad hand in football and I've just had to cope with it.

"There's nothing I could have done about it and I'm just coming to Marseille to try to do my best. There's no point dwelling on what's happened.

"What happened with the mix-up after Christmas was obviously the worst time - if I said I wasn't disappointed I would be lying.

"But it's done now and I've got a chance to be involved in this game. It would mean a hell of a lot to go to a European final."

Bowyer is no stranger to major European occasions following a distinguished spell at Leeds that saw him play in the last four of both the UEFA Cup and the Champions League.

Those games both ended in defeat, but the all-action midfielder is hoping the experience could prove crucial in the south of France.

"The lesson to learn is that we've got to keep it tight as a team," he said.

"It's going to be hard because the Marseille crowd are really hostile but, as long as we stick together and everybody works hard, we will be okay.