Kieron Dyer is ready to commit his future to Newcastle for the next decade despite having sampled the bitter taste of FA Cup semi-final defeat.

The 21-year-old England midfielder was a central figure as United went close on several occasions to clawing back Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday.

Now he is setting his sights on a return to the new-look stadium and a chance to reward the club's fans.

"I was saying to Rob Lee afterwards that our fans were absolutely magnificent," said the #6million summer signing from Ipswich.

"Rob is in his testimonial season, and I can see me staying for 10 years just for the fans.

"They're absolutely brilliant, and I'm just gutted for them. They're the number one fans in the world.

"We're all bitterly disappointed. But the manager (Bobby Robson) said not to worry; he'll get us back here in a final sooner rather than later, and we believe him. You just have to look at his track record."

While it is not uncommon for footballers to praise their club's supporters in the most glittering terms, Dyer's judgment received backing from an unlikely source on Monday as dozens of Chelsea supporters rang St James' Park to applaud the sporting behaviour of their opposite numbers.

Thousands of black and whites stayed behind for several minutes after the final whistle to first acknowledge the efforts of their team and then congratulate Gianluca Vialli's side as they made their way to the tunnel.

"We have been delighted to receive quite a number of calls from Chelsea fans praising our supporters for their sporting behaviour," said a Newcastle spokesman.

"It's unusual to hear from opposing fans in this way, and we're very proud of the way our supporters behaved."

Once the dust had settled, Robson and his players were left to reflect upon a third successive fruitless trip to the twin towers. But there was little time for brooding with a Premiership trip to West Ham looming on Wednesday night.

Ironically, Tottenham's 2-0 defeat at Liverpool as United and Chelsea battled it out at Wembley saw the Tynesiders climb into the top half of the table on goal difference for the first time in what has been an eventful season at St James'.

The aim now is to ensure an even bigger improvement, with seven league games remaining.

"We've got 21 points to play for and we'll try to get as many as we can," said Dyer.

"We've got to take a lot of confidence from the way we played against Chelsea and we'll go to West Ham full of confidence and hopefully pick up three points."

Captain Alan Shearer, who admitted that in a black and white shirt at least he will be glad to see the back of the stadium which has witnessed so much of his misery in recent years, echoed Dyer's sentiments.

"Now we've got to try to win as many league games as we can and see where that takes us," he said.

"If it takes us into Europe - which is unlikely but there's a chance of it - then great."

If Newcastle did not lay their Wembley ghost this weekend they at least confirmed the growing belief within the camp that on their day they can compete with the best.

That has not always been the case in recent seasons, and it is perhaps significant that although they have gone a stage further in the FA Cup in the last two years they have finished in 13th position in the Premiership on both occasions.

Considering the dreadful start they had to the current campaign they can take some pride from the about-turn they have performed in the post-Ruud Gullit era.

Robson will never admit it despite the best efforts of everyone within the club to tell him otherwise but he has been the catalyst. Even so he will need all his legendary motivational skills in the next couple of days.

Bruised and battered both physically and mentally, his players will need their 67-year-old manager's soothing words to ease their pain, and then the rallying cry he has been issuing for more than 30 years to send them out at Upton Park with a fresh spring in their step.

Newcastle's only major fitness concern is striker Duncan Ferguson, who limped off with a knee injury just 38 minutes into the semi-final.

Dyer was one of several players to pick up knocks but he is expected to recover in time to take his place in the squad.

-- Anonymous, April 11, 2000

Answers

Still feel that despite the result, we brought a huge amount away from that match. Serious acclaim for the quality of play, and wonderful accolades for the fervour and good sportsmanship of the supporters. I can`t remember a time when I`ve seen and heard so many positive reports and interviews in the media. I`m not totally sure that I am comfortable with it, these things do tend to be cyclic, and given a few more weeks of good publicity, the media will get bored and start throwing out a few banana skins! (:o)

-- Anonymous, April 11, 2000

Thanks for that Macca.

I read some of this on teletext yesterday, and it was just the tonic to hear this from Dyer. I always had him marked as a career footballer, looking to stay with us for 3-4 years, gaining experience and a reputation before leap-frogging to a European club.

It's nice to hear that we do make a difference, isn't it :-)

-- Anonymous, April 11, 2000

I think Domi has expressed similar sentiments as well. Check the SkySports EPL page.

-- Anonymous, April 11, 2000