Blackburn Our Key To Europe

Last updated : 26 April 2007 By Footy Mad - Editor

If Newcastle win at Reading, it will just about keep the door into the InterToto Cup open.

If Tottenham finish above Reading in the Premiership and automatically qualify for the UEFA Cup, Newcastle only have to finish above Blackburn Rovers - who they play at home on May 5 - to qualify for the Intertoto Cup.

Reading have not entered the competition, so it is all down to what Newcastle do in the final three fixtures of the season against Reading, Blackburn and relegated Watford. And if they fail against that trio, they will only have themselves to blame.

Scott Parker: "There is still a chance of getting into the Intertoto Cup because we've got to play the two teams that are above us.

"Obviously it's not as big a chance as we would like, but it's possible. We'd want to go into the next three games looking to win them. We want to do that for ourselves anyway after the season we've had, but there is that extra little incentive of the InterToto Cup to think about.

"As captain I'm not going to sit here and lie, we've not done well. This season has not been good enough by any means, but there is no hiding from the fact we've had a massive, massive injury list.

"People might read this and think I'm making excuses, that I'm leaning on something to help me out of a hole. But look at Chelsea, they had one player missing, John Terry, for a couple of months and they struggled. At times we've had eight players missing and, to be fair, any side, as big as Chelsea and Manchester United are, if you took eight of their first team players out they would struggle to cope. It hasn't been good enough by Newcastle's standards, and we're not trying to hide from that, but the injuries are the major reasons for that.

"All we can do is learn from this and come back stronger next year. You'd like to think this season has been a bit of a freak year with injuries, but this is Newcastle United so you never know what is going to happen."

Such is the importance of the InterToto, Scottish club Inverness have declined to put their name forward for it because ... can you believe ... Elton John is playing a concert at their ground when the first round is due to be played!