NEWCASTLE UNITED boss Sir Bobby Robson is ready to keep faith with misfiring striker Craig Bellamy.

The lightning quick front-man is yet to score a Premiership goal this season and he has struggled to recapture his impressive form of previous campaigns.

Bellamy, who is currently on international duty with Wales, has never been a prolific marksman during his time on Tyneside.

But his partnership with Alan Shearer has always been one of the most feared in the top-flight since his arrival from Coventry for £6m in 1999.

And Robson - who also has Shola Ameobi, Lomana LuaLua and Michael Chopra all vying for forward positions in the Magpies' starting line-up - is convinced Bellamy will come good in front of goal. The 24-year-old had a quiet match in the 1-0 win over Southampton on Saturday and his only goals this season, two of them, came in the 5-0 hammering of NAC Breda in the UEFA Cup.

However, Robson said: "Craig was always a threat against Southampton, like he is whenever he plays. It was just his final ball and his last shot at goal which let him down.

"We have to keep at him and working on him. He'll soon start to score again, he's still a nuisance to play against and he is still hard to deal with. At times he has shot at goal when he should have played in players and other times he has passed when he should have had a shot himself. He'll learn though as long as we keep pushing him."

Bellamy's Welsh teammate Gary Speed, meanwhile, has welcomed the work ethic which Lee Bowyer has brought to the Newcastle side.

Since leaving Leeds United in January, Bowyer failed to make a major impact at West Ham United where he was unable to put a stop to the club's freefall into the Nationwide League last season.

And it is only now that the St. James' Park faithful are beginning to see the summer capture's true talents on the pitch after Robson told him to forget about shaking off his bad boy reputation. Speed said: "Lee's such an enthusiastic, hard-working fella that he's always going to play well.

"We all have indifferent games, we all have bad games, but he works so hard for the team that he'll have more good than bad. It's a great ethic to have. I think the fans recognise that he works his socks off for the team. He's showing what he's capable of."

l Brian Kerr will be ready to start knocking on Robson's door in December.

The Newcastle youngster has been on loan at Livingston so far this season and is enjoying playing regular first-team football.

But the 21-year-old still has ambitions to make his name in the Premiership and is hoping to do it at the start of next year.