Hughton: Lovenkrands will come back stronger

Nov 14 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

NEWCASTLE United boss Chris Hughton has ruled out a January move for prolific Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford as he backs Peter Løvenkrands to come back stronger after the international break.

Leeds’ top scorer Beckford was on Alan Shearer’s list of targets in the summer and he has again been linked with a move to St James’ Park in recent weeks.

But Hughton has distanced United from a move for the 25-year-old, who has become a key figure in Leeds’ promotion push and would likely cost at least £3m.

“It’s obvious that we will be mentioned with players like Jermaine – we have been linked with him before and he’s a good player,” he said.

“But the answer is no. There certainly hasn’t been anything from our side or any contact with Leeds from us. There are a lot of other names that will be mentioned with us before January but Jermaine Beckford is not someone who we’ve made any contact about.

“There is nothing concrete on that at the moment.”

The link has credence because Hughton is in the market for attacking reinforcements in January, but with Shola Ameobi set to return in a fortnight it is not the number one priority for the Newcastle boss.

He believes that the likes of Løvenkrands, who this week admitted that “family problems” were behind his recent lack of match action, will come good over the course of the season and sees the return of Ameobi – who is set to return to the bench in time for the Swansea match in two weeks’ time – as a major boost.

Hughton said that the club would offer its full support to Løvenkrands, who he believes could still have a big impact this season. The Danish striker was given compassionate leave after his father fell ill. “Of course we will support Peter through that,” Hughton said. “He is a very important member of our squad. The reason that we brought Peter in was because of what he had done for us last season.

“We knew when we brought him in that he hadn’t had a pre-season like everyone else in the squad and he has had a couple of injuries too, which have slowed his progress a bit. Also there were the family problems which he has spoken about himself.

“It is a shame that has happened because Peter is a good player and I am confident that he will get more chances in the first team and that he will take them.

“It is a long season and there is still plenty of time for Peter to recapture the form that he had last season.” United’s players are enjoying a well-earned weekend off after rediscovering their winning form in the run-up to the international break.

Hughton believes the crisis of confidence which saw them drop points at Nottingham Forest and Scunthorpe has been solved, and says that spirits in the camp are at an all-time high.

“The mood this week has been good,” he said. “I think it definitely helped that we were coming off a good three points on Saturday.

“We had a difficult period where we were dropping points but that kind of thing is inevitable during a long season.”