Solano is determined to save Souness

Now, little more than three months after leaving Aston Villa, Solano's thoughts are of saving manager Graeme Souness from the sack.

Defeat to Villa, who the Peruvian played for either side of his two spells at St James' Park, is widely expected to result in the removal of Souness from the position he has occupied for just 14 months.

One of the Scot's biggest problems has been the seemingly never-ending injury crisis at the club, which includes the club's record buy Michael Owen.

Solano insists he has rarely been part of a squad bereft of so many players for one reason or another, but does recall one instance.

The 30-year-old was with Newcastle six years ago when Ruud Gullit was axed after failing to win any of the first four Premiership fixtures in the 1999-00 season.

Gullit was similarly shy of a number of his players that year through injury but Solano is desperate to ensure that Souness does not suffer the same gigantic fall as the Dutchman.

"I never knew an injury situation like the one we have now when Sir Bobby Robson was manager," said Solano. "The only time it was as bad as this was when Ruud Gullit was in charge.

"It's terrible luck because we've never been able to put out a settled side. There have been too many changes, especially in the defence. It seems to change every week.

"The gaffer has either bought or selected most of the players now and we owe him everything. We have a responsibility to Graeme Souness and we can ease the pressure on him with a good win in front of our own fans."

Solano was as poor as the rest of the Newcastle team when they were dumped out of the Carling Cup on Wednesday night by a team which amounted to nothing more than a Wigan reserves side.

Too many Magpies' players bottled the opportunity to book a place in the quarter-finals of the competition and never looked like coming to terms with a tenacious Latics side who could also play neat football.

The first-half performance in particular was one of the worst by Newcastle in their recent history and it led to the 5,000 strong travelling support calling for the manager's head.

Solano said: "There is nothing you can say about the Wigan game other than it wasn't good enough. As a team we played badly and we deserve the criticism we have received since.

"It makes Saturday's game a very important one, not just for the manager, but for the players. We owe the manager a good performance because we have let him down.

"I still believe that we have a good team here, we have some excellent players and I still feel we can finish in the top four this season. December is one of the most important months of the season. There are a lot of games and if you go on a good run in December it can make your season. We have to make sure that is what we do.

"We have to be strong against Aston Villa, but these are the sort of games I enjoy. There is a lot of pressure on the team and the fans are angry. We have to put things right and cope with the pressure of the situation."

After being sold by Sir Bobby Robson in January 2004, Solano spent 20 months at Villa before he was persuaded back to Tyneside by Souness.

The South American, a fans' favourite during his first stint in the North-East, never wanted to leave but his gruelling international commitments to Peru eventually led to Robson offloading him.

When Villa, occupants of a relegation place, make the trip to Newcastle today, Solano will be more than happy to make their plight even worse, if it means Souness is given a stay of execution.

"I enjoyed my time at Aston Villa. When I went there they were 16th in the table, but then we went on a very good run and almost qualified for Europe," said Solano, whose former boss at Villa, David O'Leary, is already being touted as a successor to Souness.

"Things had started to go badly for me at Newcastle. I wasn't playing regularly and I wasn't happy. Villa gave me an escape."

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