SIR BOBBY ROBSON will rest Alan Shearer tonight - even though the Newcastle United manager insists he is the most desperate man in English football to lift the Carling Cup.

Shearer will be on the bench against West Bromwich Albion and replaced by Lomano LuaLua in the starting line-up as Robson looks to ease his talisman through a hectic fixture programme.

Robson said: "We've played NAC Breda and Fulham in midweek and now we've got West Brom and Basle in midweek.

"We've had a heavy programme and we've got a heavy programme looming, and Saturday's game against Aston Villa is very important to us.

"I've already picked the team and it's a team in the best interests of the club.

"In the 16 players that will be on duty, we will have the strength of the club except for the players that are injured or ill."

No one in the Newcastle squad was born when the club last picked up some silverware - the Fairs Cup in 1969.

And LuaLua said: "All the players know how long it is since Newcastle won a trophy.

"The manager reminds us of it, and we've all seen the new DVD with the great teams of the 1950s and 1960s.

"If you play for a club like Newcastle, you should know a lot about the club and its history." Newcastle have been blighted by a succession of near-misses in the last three decades and 70-year-old Robson knows time is running out in his mission to bring silverware to Tyneside.

He said: "I've told the players that there's no one in the country that wants to win this week more than me.

"It gives us the chance of winning a trophy and I'm sure the players are aware of how important this game is.

"We respected it last year, but I quickly got over the disappointment of going out because we were still in the Champions League.

"It's different now. The UEFA Cup is worth playing for, but we ought to respect the Carling Cup and try to stay in it.

"If we get knocked out, we want to get knocked out because we're not good enough - not because we've given it away. We've already sold more than 33,000 tickets for the game, which is phenomenal.

"The players have to appreciate that; we have to give full value to the people that are paying good money to see us.

"I'm not picking a team to give one or two players a game; I'm picking a team to win.

"Whoever plays has to realise that if I leave out one or two players, the others have to make sure we don't miss them."

For LuaLua, this evening's match represents a rare opening as he looks to show Robson that he is worth a place in the starting line-up.

Shola Ameobi has shone in Craig Bellamy's absence, but LuaLua is determined to state his case against the Nationwide League leaders.

He said: "I've been waiting for a chance since the start of the season and this is a good opportunity for me to show what I can do.

"A lot of people have been saying I should be playing, but I've been patient.

"It's been frustrating, but what could I do?

"I've kept working hard, and hopefully I'll do my best."

Robson added: "I know Lomano LuaLua can change things; I know he'll do something different.

"I also know that if he does something different, he might do something stupid - but he can be very exciting."

Lee Bowyer will miss tonight's game as he is unwell; the midfielder has been sent home from training on each of the last two days.

Robson is also still without injured trio Kieron Dyer, Craig Bellamy and Jonathan Woodgate.

Dyer, who has a hamstring problem, is likely to sit out Saturday's Premiership visit of Villa.