Bellamy injury to spark row

Bellamy, who has been suffering from a niggling hamstring injury for the last month, played the full 90 minutes of yesterday's disappointing 1-0 defeat at Bolton.

But he complained of more soreness at the final whistle and, after a discussion with his manager, the decision was taken not to let him travel to Budapest.

Robson and Hughes had a major dispute earlier this season when the Newcastle boss claimed Bellamy returned injured from an international game against Serbia & Montenegro in Belgrade.

And the two are at loggerheads again after Hughes initially named the frontman in his travelling party - only to see him withdrawn at Robson's request.

"I've withdrawn him," confirmed the Newcastle boss. "I wanted him to play 70 minutes yesterday but I had to keep him on because of the way the game had gone.

"He's got a tight hamstring and to let him go and play for Wales wouldn't be a good idea.

"The game in Mallorca was his first for two weeks, so I'm not surprised.

"It's for his own benefit - he suggested it to me. It's a problem with so many games coming up, and the Wales game is only a friendly."

Yesterday's 1-0 defeat saw Newcastle slip a point behind Liverpool in the race to claim fourth spot as Gerard Houllier's side claimed a point at Leicester.

The pleasure of making the last eight of the UEFA Cup was rapidly replaced by the pain of a second successive Premiership away defeat as United turned in a listless and leggy performance.

A two-legged European quarter-final with PSV Eindhoven is just around the corner, and Robson admits that his side's regular continental jaunts are slowly starting to take their toll.

"We're enjoying Europe," said Robson. "But there's no doubt that it's tiring for the players.

"We're playing on a Thursday night, coming back in the early hours of the morning and getting to bed at half four, then travelling away again straight after.

"I felt we had tired legs in the second half and that why we faded. I was reasonably pleased with our performance in the first half but, after the break, I thought we fizzled out.

"We seemed to lack the energy to get possession of the ball and make inroads into their defence."

Newcastle were on the backfoot from the fourth minute when 18-year-old Steven Taylor failed to clear his lines and allowed Henrik Pedersen to lob Shay Given from wide on the left.

The teenager was given a rude awakening on his Newcastle debut, but Robson was impressed by the way in which he bounced back from his early ordeal to more than hold his own in the absence of regular right back Andy O'Brien.

"He's not even a right back really," admitted Robson. "He's a centre-half, but we've got a bit of a problem at right back at the moment and I had to play him.

"He got off to an unfortunate start and that never helps. I thought he was pushed by Pedersen because that was the only way he was getting to the ball.

"But I thought he did reasonably well for us considering he had a difficult baptism."

United rarely looked like getting back on level terms after their early setback with Jermaine Jenas, Laurent Robert and Lee Bowyer all struggling to make an impact in the final third.

Bowyer was preferred to Darren Ambrose on the right of midfield but, after another less than impressive outing, found himself substituted in the search for an equaliser.

"I've had several chats with Lee about his form," said Robson. "He's suffered as a result of not playing regular football. He hasn't been able to build up to Premiership match tempo.

"Perhaps he hasn't played as well as people think he should have, but I wouldn't help him become the player he was again if I left him out.

"He hasn't shown what he's capable of and he knows that. I thought he would be fresh having not played in Mallorca. I thought he would have given Steven Taylor some protection - but it didn't work out like that."

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