MICHAEL Owen has admitted he was not playing at full tilt during Saturday's win over Arsenal but, with a full week of training under his belt, the striker expects to be firing on all cylinders when Newcastle travel to West Ham.

Owen was something of a peripheral figure as the Magpies outfought the Gunners on their way to a 1-0 win last weekend.

That was hardly a surprise given the England international's lack of match practice following a groin problem - he had missed four games - and his limited training schedule in the build-up to the St James' Park showdown.

Graeme Souness admitted that playing Owen had been something of a gamble and, while beating Arsenal was obviously pleasing, seeing his £16m man come through unscathed was equally significant.

Owen has returned to full training this week ahead of Saturday's trip to Upton Park and, by the time the game comes around, he expects to be much nearer his peak than last weekend.

"I was getting stiff towards the end," admitted the former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker. "I didn't do any training on Friday and hadn't done any for three weeks. I was expecting to be stiff after the match.

"The worry when you are coming back into the team after an injury is that you will get injured again straightaway.

"It is a difficult balancing act, but I've got the 90 minutes under my belt and there has been no recurrence.

"It's like anything, I'll need a full week of training to get used to the rigours of the Premiership. But I wasn't holding back. I was tackling and sprinting without any pain so, hopefully, it is all behind me now."

Saturday's success lifted Newcastle back into the top half of the Premiership and, despite their recent problems, Souness' side remain just four points adrift of a European spot.

Victory at Upton Park could see them rise as high as seventh but, with the middle of the table more congested than ever, defeat could see them drop as low as 13th. As ever, consistency is the key.

"We have to look to take the Arsenal result into our next two away games," said Owen. "That is the nature of football, you have a good result and then by Monday you are already looking ahead to the next game.

"We want the same again against West Ham on Saturday. Chelsea and Liverpool are both on good runs, but not many teams have that consistency at the moment. That is what we need, some consistency."

It will not have escaped Owen's notice that Newcastle have only achieved any kind of consistency this season when he has been in the side.

The Magpies have lost only one game in which he has been involved - October's 1-0 defeat at Wigan - and five of his seven outings have ended in a win.

"Saturday's result should give us a lot of confidence," he added. "It was a physical game and everybody came off with a few kicks and bruises.

"But that's English football and it is what happens when you have two teams who want to win so much.

"It was a good result and a good game to play in. A 1-0 win over a team like Arsenal is always a good result."

l Turkish international Emre is hopeful of featuring in Saturday's game after returning to training yesterday.

The former Inter Milan midfielder has been sidelined since sustaining a hamstring injury in last month's Carling Cup defeat at Wigan.

Celestine Babayaro is also nearing full fitness as he recovers from a groin strain, although the weekend's visit to Upton Park is likely to come too soon for the Nigerian full-back.

*Newcastle will travel to Sheffield Wednesday in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup after beating Stoke City 8-7 on penalties following Monday night's goalless draw.