Toon terriers out to hound Wenger

Tonight, Sam Allardyce will send out his three Newcastle United terriers, Nicky Butt, Alan Smith and Joey Barton, with clear instructions.

Having taken one point from their last five games and facing an Arsenal midfield shorn of Cesc Fabregas, Mathieu Flamini and Alexander Hleb, Newcastle's game plan will be a simple one - play it hard, keep it simple and get stuck in.

It worked for Allardyce at Bolton and it must work tonight if he is to save his job. Arsene Wenger hated playing Wanderers and, despite showing some support through gritted teeth for 'Big Sam' yesterday, the Gunners boss would love nothing more than to teach Allardyce a football lesson at St James' Park.

The antipathy between the heart-onhis-sleeve Englishman and the erudite Frenchman is more than just a clash of footballing philosophies. As individuals, they are like chalk and cheese. There is as much chance of the sociable Allardyce leaving a football dinner early as there is of Wenger spurning the opportunity to watch an obscure German third division fixture on satellite TV.

Allardyce is big chums with many of his fellow managers, Sir Alex Ferguson among them, while Wenger simply doesn't do the old pals act with his rivals.

He maintains a professional detachment from other managers and hops on to the coach straight after he has completed his post-match media duties.

Asked about the threat to Allardyce's job, Wenger said: "It's a bit harsh but, firstly, I don't know if it is true and, secondly, I don't know what is really going on inside the club.

"But if the speculation is true, then it's surprising as he's just been appointed.

"Newcastle has a big support and you feel there is a great potential within the club. Of course, in order to turn things round you need time.

"But I believe every time we go up there you don't come back with points if you don't perform well, and that is what we expect from Newcastle.

"Last season we beat Bolton twice, they were a physically big side and under Allardyce they beat nearly everybody in the league. But, in fairness, you expect commitment from everyone when you play away from home. When you go up to Newcastle you always expect a passionate game, but we will focus mainly on our own performance."

Wenger's side are unbeaten in 14 league games this season and will extend their lead over Manchester United to six points if they prevail tonight.

Successive road trips to the North East - they face Middlesbrough on Sunday - will be a test for his young team that will include Lassana Diarra, Denilson and Eduardo at St James.

A lot of responsibility will fall on to the shoulders of Gilberto who will anchor the midfield and try to protect the younger guns around him.

Allardyce once boasted: "I'm not telling you the key to rattling them [Arsenal]. Arsene's not managed to work it out yet, so I may as well keep it going."

But Newcastle and their passionate fans are a different animal. Having been brought up in the modern era on Kevin Keegan's swashbuckling football, they will not accept a dour physical approach in every match. "This team is not capable of doing what Bolton did," admitted Allardyce yesterday.

"The one I had at Bolton had a certain way of playing and knew that it was successful.

"That became a burden for Arsenal and for Arsene Wenger. There was a bit of reverse psychology and they found it hugely difficult to beat us. Some of their players' body language wasn't great when they ran out at the Reebok.

"But this is a totally different club and a totally different team."

Maybe so. But don't be fooled into thinking that Allardyce will try to outfootball Arsenal tonight - who can?

Victory for Newcastle could represent a turning point for a man who was once linked with the England manager's job before Steve McClaren took over.

How distant that now seems as United have not won since beating Tottenham 3-1 on 22 October and they have collected just a single point since.

Allardyce added: "It does not particularly matter how it comes, one win - and if it could be against Arsenal, it takes you sky-high because you are beating the best team in the Premier League at the moment, who have not been beaten. But any win at the moment would bring the confidence back, and this game and the next three or four coming up are big challenges for us now."

Tonight's encounter in front of 55,000 passionate Geordies will go a long way to shaping Allardyce's future.

If Messrs Butt, Smith and Barton don't snarl and bite, expect the Toon Army to break out in a rounding chorus of "there's only one Alan Shearer" long before the final whistle.