GRAEME Souness today insisted he will never quit as the manager of Newcastle United - even though another defeat at the hands of Blackburn Rovers this weekend would make his position on Tyneside virtually untenable.

Souness is facing the biggest crisis of his managerial career and the pressure on him to resign will reach fever pitch if his old club inflict a potentially fatal wound at St James' Park tomorrow.

The Toon army have turned on the former Rovers boss, Souness has become embroiled in a bitter fall-out with Alan Oliver, the United correspondent on the Newcastle Evening Chronicle, and fresh revelations in the tabloid press yesterday claimed Magpies chairman Freddie Shepherd is barely on speaking terms with his under-fire manager.

But, speaking exclusively to the Evening Telegraph, a defiant Souness is still convinced he's the man to turn things round on Tyneside, and he is adamant he won't walk away from the club, despite the deepening sense of foreboding which is threatening to engulf him.

"This is the toughest period of my career, without a shadow of a doubt, but there's not a chance of me quitting," said the determined Scot.

"I'll keep doing the things that I believe are correct, and the things that have stood me in good stead for the last 20 years.

"Hopefully, then Lady Luck will decide to shine on us very soon, starting tomorrow."

Souness was hardly welcomed to St James' Park with open arms when he was appointed as the successor to Sir Bobby Robson 15 months ago.

A sceptical Toon army were well aware the 52-year-old was only a handful of games away from being sacked by Blackburn, so his appointment smacked of desperation on Shepherd's part after his preferred choice, Sam Allardyce, had snubbed the Magpies' initial advances.

For a time, Souness threatened to win the doubters over as United embarked on a nine-game unbeaten run immediately after he assumed control.

But the sharks are now circling again and they have the scent of blood in their nostrils after Souness has spectacularly failed to deliver on his promises, despite spending close to £50 million on new players in a little over 12 months.

Speak to Souness himself and he will point to a crippling injury list that has robbed him of many key players.

Summer signings Michael Owen, Albert Luque and Emre - bought for a combined total of £29.3 million - have spent more time in the treatment room than they have out on the pitch so far this season.

But those who are close to the club say Newcastle's problems run far deeper and they are growing tired of hearing the same excuses.

"I can't think of any other time in my career when injuries have damaged a team I've been in charge of like this," countered Souness.

"We are losing one a week at the moment and we haven't had anything like our strongest team on the pitch for months now.

"It goes back to the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup against Sporting Lisbon last season. We lost three players that day in Titus Bramble, Jermaine Jenas and Kieron Dyer - and all in the space of 10 minutes.

"From that moment to this, we've never recovered.

"It's hard to take. You have to believe 'it's going to be different this week and we're going to turn the corner with injuries'.

"But, if anything, it's got worse as we've gone on and we're now at a stage where our bench will reveal everything because we'll have people on there tomorrow who have no experience of Premier League football.

"That tells you the full extent of our problems."

Although he's fast becoming the most hated man on Tyneside, Souness does not look back with any regret on his decision to quit Blackburn for the Magpies.

For three years, the former Liverpool star enjoyed great success at Ewood Park, leading the club to promotion and success in the League Cup, which made him Rovers' second most successful post-war manager after Kenny Dalglish.

But then things started to turn sour for the Scot and when Newcastle surprisingly offered him a get-out clause, he jumped at the chance of taking on one of the toughest jobs in English football.

"This a big job and that's the price on the ticket. If you're not winning games then the pressure is on," said Souness.

"When you're down, people come out of the woodwork and want to kick you where it hurts, but that's the nature of the business we are in."