BRAD Friedel believes his former Blackburn Rovers teammate Damien Duff could have a key role to play for Newcastle United between now and the end of the season.

Duff is now back to full fitness after a string of injury problems, and Friedel said: "I played with Damien when he was in a rich vein of form so I know he's a tremendous player and he's going to be someone we will have to watch very closely tomorrow.

"Individually, he can be very, very exciting, and very dynamic, so we will have to be at the top of our games to stop him.

"I know he's had some injury problems but when Duffer is fit and firing on all cylinders, he's the kind of player who could make the difference for Newcastle."