SHAY GIVEN last night warned his Newcastle United teammates not to blow their Champions League dream by taking next week's qualifier first-round lightly.

The Newcastle goalkeeper will travel to Partizan Belgrade or Djurgardens next Wednesday remembering that 12 months ago the Magpies won 1-0 against Zeljeznicar in Sarajevo to take a giant step towards the European Cup group stage.

But Given is anxious they do not show any complacency next week as a place in the lucrative first-round beckons.

He said: "We played 38 games to give ourselves another chance of playing in the Champions League, and that's a lot of effort and sweat.

"It would be a lot of hard work to throw away by failing to focus properly on the qualifiers.

"We've still got two tough games to come before we're there again, so we can't get ahead of ourselves.

"We have to go in with the same mental attitude we did against Zeljeznicar last season. We were totally focused on winning those two games and knew how much it meant."

Given was heartened by Newcastle's performance in Tuesday's 2-2 draw with European heavyweights Bayern Munich.

He claimed their display illustrated the improvement made by the Magpies in the last year.

Given said: "Bayern were the double winners in Germany and undoubtedly one of the best sides in Europe.

"At times, the way they passed and moved was breathtaking, but while we may still have a little way to go before we can consistently match their standards, we're close now.

"Our aim is to belong at that level. I don't think we're quite at the level of sides like Bayern yet, but that's where we want to be.

"They've been at the top of Europe for decades and we've been there a year, so they're the standard we're aspiring to.

"We're not there yet and we've not achieved anything in terms of trophies. We're still novices in the grand scheme of things, but we're learning the whole time.

"I think we saw against Bayern Munich the benefit of the experience we gained in the Champions League last season.

"We lost 3-0 to Barcelona this time last year; this time we drew 2-2 with a side which is of the same European pedigree."

Meanwhile, England midfielder Owen Hargreaves has revealed he would be interested in being part of Newcastle's "wonderful team".

Hargreaves impressed Sir Bobby Robson as he capped an outstanding display for Bayern on Tuesday with a superb free-kick.

And he said: "Newcastle have a wonderful team at the moment. As far as English football is concerned, Newcastle seems the place to be."

Robson added: "Apart from his goal, I thought Hargreaves was excellent. Both he and Kieron Dyer were running like greyhounds chasing the same rabbit. The midfield battle was intense."

l Youri Djorkaeff is prepared to wear a protective mask if it means he can face Manchester United on the opening day of the season.

The experienced Bolton midfielder suffered a hairline fracture of his cheekbone in Malta last week.

There were fears he could have been out for six weeks but no operation is needed.

''My priority is to play and anything is possible as long as it is not dangerous. It would have to be 100 per cent correct,'' he said.

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