NEWCASTLE arrive in Germany tomorrow ahead of their Champions League battle against Bayer Leverkusen - a club lurching from one crisis to the next.

The Germans, who less than 12 months ago lined up against Real Madrid in the Champions League Final at Hampden Park, go into the game just days after their coach, Klaus Toppmoller, was given the dreaded 'vote of confidence'.

The club have sunk to just a point, and a place, above the Bundesliga relegation zone, and on Friday their £6m Brazilian striker Franca was apparently pleading with the club to allow him to quit.

Bayer this week insisted Toppmoller - last year's Bundesliga coach of the year - would be in charge for today's game against Rostock, but there were no guarantees that their under-fire boss would still be at the helm when Newcastle visit the BayArena.

Toppmoller had hoped that the club would back him completely until the end of the season, but defeat today could see Sir Bobby Robson locking horns with a new man in charge on Tuesday.

The Champions League appears to have taken a backseat in the priorities of the Germans, and speaking about today's league game, Toppmoller said: "It is one of the most important games in my time in Leverkusen and I am absolutely sure that each and every player knows what is on the line.

"We must win for the club."

With skipper Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy suspended for Tuesday's game, Newcastle will be happy to take every advantage they can in a game that coincides with Sir Bobby's 70th birthday.

Three Champions League points would be the best present the Newcastle manager could hope for to get his club's stuttering Champions League campaign back on track after defeats against Inter Milan and Barcelona.

The soon-to-be septuagenarian will not want reminding of his advancing years after Tuesday, and Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd is more than happy to keep it that way.

"All Bobby will be thinking about in our hotel in Cologne on Tuesday morning is just how we can beat Leverkusen in the Champions League," said Shepherd.

"Age just does not come into it. It has never been, and never will be, an issue in his position as manager of Newcastle. He does not think or talk about it. And neither do I or the rest of the board.

"But this does not mean we do not recognise what a fantastic achievement it is for someone not only to be involved in football at the age of 70, but being successfully involved."

Meanwhile, Shepherd has caused controversy by making a £2.5m offer for Ipswich Town's highly-rated youngsters Darren Ambrose and Darren Bent - without the knowledge of the First Division club.

Shepherd contacted Ipswich's administrators after the First Division club revealed their financial predicament this week. Staff at Deloitte & Touche informed the Ipswich board of the offer for the England Under-21 pair.

The bid was described as "derisory and insulting" by Portman Road sources and was rejected.

If the joint bid for the pair had been successful, Robson, would not have been able to play the pair in his first team this season, as the transfer window closed a fortnight ago. But the players could have been loaned back to the First Division club. Newcastle had the pair watched again earlier this month at Bradford, and they are the latest talented youngsters from Portman Road to be linked with the Magpies.

Robson is keen to continue his policy of recruiting promising young English talent, and will be armed with a formidable transfer war chest this summer if Newcastle qualify for the Champions League again.

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