IF press speculation is to be believed Saturday's defeat against Rovers could be Graeme Souness's last in charge of Newcastle United.

Should this prove to be true, how ironic this game can be.

I'm sure we all remember the first game after Souness had fled the sinking ship of what was Blackburn Rovers at that time.

Of how a rock bottom Rovers were annihilated by three goals. Of how the new, ahem, messiah' strode into his new kingdom with his young son sporting a Newcastle shirt and talking of how he was proud that he would grow up a Geordie. Of how he acclaimed his new supporters with the promise to bring back the good times.

And how the Geordies mocked the Rovers fans that day as we succumbed so meekly. But even in that adversity the Rovers fans managed to sing back that's the team that Souness bought' at their own charges as a kind of warning of what was to come for the fans in black and white.

And how it has come back to kick them right where it hurts.

Last Saturday's game was a kind of role reversal on that meeting at St. James's Park 16 months ago. Where previously Newcastle efficiently dispatched a hapless Rovers side this time Rovers did the same to a similarly woeful Newcastle outfit.

Where I saw a team in blue and white willing to chase every ball I saw a dispirited, disjointed and disorganised team in black and white. A scenario that was the norm all too frequently at the tail end of his reign at Ewood.

It's not only the tale on the pitch that remains unchanged but the post match comments that our former leader makes. The blame is still laid at Lady Luck, poor refereeing decisions and the old favourite - injuries. I have no doubt that the injuries have had a bearing on performances up there and the press do tend to afford some sympathy towards him because of this.

However, has this not been the case at every club where he has managed?

So the real question should be, are the injuries more down to his outdated methods as opposed to extraordinary bad luck?

Mark Hughes' disbelief at how unfit Rovers players were when he took charge would seem to suggest the former yet Souness' high profile in the media tends to mean this is glossed over.

What cannot be glossed over though is the way he's taken a club from European qualification into a relegation battle having spent a bucketload of money. Ring any bells?

While the Geordies lurch from one crisis to another Rovers seem to be playing important games every other week and it just so happens that this week there are two of them.

If the FA Cup game at West Ham on Saturday is big then Wednesday's second leg in Manchester is huge. We couldn't be on a better run of form or be playing with any more confidence and even the pundits are saying not to bet against us.

Wouldn't it be fantastic if, after all that's gone on in the media before, we could prove those pundits right about us for once!