Shepherd issues Robert ultimatum

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd has ordered French winger Laurent Robert to honour his contract and challenged Paris St Germain to come clean over their interest in the player.

The Magpies have grown weary with repeated suggestions that the £10.5million winger could be heading back to his former club, the latest coming this week.

Robert, not for the first time, denied making comments attributed to him when confronted by manager Graeme Souness yesterday, and now Shepherd had waded into the row by issuing the French club with an ultimatum.

"I have told Paris St Germain to put up or shut up," he said. "And after speaking to them, I can tell Laurent Robert that they are saying they are not interested in taking him back to Paris.

"First they tell me they could not afford his transfer fee and neither could they pay him the wages he has been picking up at St James' Park.

"He has 20 months left on his contract and he should honour it. After all, we are honouring our contract with him."

Robert has started just seven of the 13 games Newcastle have played under new manager Graeme Souness with the Scot having told him he will have to work harder on his defensive duties if he is to be a regular.

The Frenchman appears to have taken his instructions on board, although he will have too wait to see whether or not his response so far is enough to win him a place in the starting line-up for Sunday's vital Barclays Premiership clash with Manchester United at St James' Park.