Xisco lifts lid on Newcastle shambles

Newcastle striker Xisco has revealed the shambolic truth behind relegation - and insisted he never dreamed his arrival at St James' Park would force Kevin Keegan to walk out.

The Spain Under-21 star arrived from Deportivo La Coruna for £5.8million last August, signed by director of football Dennis Wise, without Keegan's blessing.

The deal, which included a five-year, £50,000-a-week pay packet, triggered Keegan's departure as he lost control of transfer policy - and the unfortunate Xisco, 22, became a symbol of the chaos and division behind the scenes.

Xisco faces England U-21s tomorrow night after lifting the lid on his Toon nightmare.

He was totally blanked by exboss Joe Kinnear, and revealed the team ethic disintegrated so badly that players would turn up for training, barely speak to each other, and go home.

With his club future in limbo, and Newcastle keen to offload their top earners, Xisco says he has yet to get a call from the club to discuss his future, pleading: "I can't have another nightmare season like it."

Xisco taught himself English from scratch, and says he is devastated for Newcastle fans who made him welcome in the city he has loved living in, despite the controversy and meltdown his transfer triggered.

Asked about Keegan, he said: "This is football. Newcastle signed me. Sometimes trainers want you, sometimes not. At the moment it felt right. I just wanted to do my best and play.

"I only knew the story that Keegan was not the one who wanted to sign me afterwards.

"I spoke to Keegan when I went to Newcastle to sign my contract. He was in the stadium with the chairman. We never spoke much. I would say 'hello' - that was about it.

"It was a big club, a big opportunity for me. No one thought Newcastle would go down. When I signed from Coruna, everyone knew who Newcastle were - a historic team, great fans, great players and a lot of money. But this last year has been hard, very hard. I never thought my first season in the Premier League would be like this. I played three or four games in the beginning, got one goal, then nothing much.

"There were many problems. First it was like a small snowball, then the problems rolled and rolled, got bigger and bigger and then when it was time to wake up, it was too late. We did not have time to recover.

"When Kinnear came - for me, nothing. For players, when you train well you expect a chance, but I got nothing. There was no communication between me and Kinnear, nothing. He never said you have trained well, or you have trained bad, or you have to be like this or that. Never.

"I was very angry. For a player the most important thing is respect. At that moment I felt that they didn't care. It was like - you stay here and train one or two hours, and then go home. This is the first time I have known that.

"The first game when Kinnear left I played for 10 minutes against West Brom and this day was like - wow, I play again."

Xisco then broke his toe in a reserve match and was out for another two months, as United plunged out of the Premier League.

"I have to wait for a call to see if they still want me there or if they want me to go on loan," he added.

"If I can't play at Newcastle, I have to find another team.

"I don't want that. I love England and Newcastle is a nice city to live in. I was surprised because I had heard many legends about England. About the weather, the food and the time everything closes. But I loved it."

Xisco has a chance to show England what he is made of.

He scored the goals to get Spain to the Euro U-21 finals and said: "I was happy when I found we were playing England. I do not have to prove anything to people in Spain. I have to show to the Newcastle fans what I can do."

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