Press article:

I want to stay - 07/05/2003

Nobby Solano is staying at St James's Park to try and help Newcastle United win that elusive trophy. The arrival of England Under-21 international Darren Ambrose, allied to the fact that Solano has put his house up for sale, has prompted talk that the popular Peruvian could be leaving United. However, Solano is staying - and that's got to be good news for United after the way the South American winger has bounced back in some style after a little blip in his form at the turn of the year.

Solano said today: "I have a contract for three more years and in football you never know what will happen. But I am happy to be at the club. "My mind is on coming back to Newcastle next season and play in the Champions League again. "I want to be here, one of the reasons being that we have played in the greatest club competition in the world.

"Sir Bobby Robson has done a fantastic job in building a very strong squad and nobody has his position in the team guaranteed. "Everybody has to fight to be in the team and it is good for the manager that he has so many choices. "He has brought in a new player in Darren Ambrose and, like everyone else, he will have to fight for his place. "But we need a big squad as we will be playing in four competitions again next year. "And, like Manchester United and Arsenal, we need the rotation system because you cannot play the same team every game. "We have gone from fourth place to third this season and we are a young squad who can only improve all the time. "But I am still a little bit disappointed that we did not win something this season, because I thought we had a great chance to lift either the Worthington Cup or the FA Cup. But it wasn't to be."

Solano was the last of Kenny Dalglish's buys in 1997 and, at stlg2.5 million, he has turned out to be a real bargain.

the Newcastle Evening Chronicle

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