STAYING PUT: Rovers ace Tugay has slammed speculation that he is on his way to Newcastle Turkish star blasts talk of Newcastle move TUGAY

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MIDFIELD maestro Tugay Kerimoglu today slammed Press reports linking him with a shock move to Newcastle United.

Several stories on the internet carried quotes allegedly made by the former Rangers star claiming he had set his heart on joining the Magpies over Christmas.

But in an exclusive interview with the Evening Telegraph, the inspirational Turk insists he has no intention of quitting Rovers whatsoever.

And he cannot envisage himself wanting to work with any manager other than his mentor, Graeme Souness.

"There's one problem with all these stories, I didn't speak with anyone from a newspaper, the internet, Sky TV or anything so I've absolutely no idea where this came from at all," said Tugay.

"I'm very, very happy at Blackburn. This is a nice club and I love the fans.

"They've been great to me since I came here.

"And I get on brilliantly with the rest of the team -- Garry Flitcroft, Dunny, everyone.

"So I don't want to leave for Newcastle or anyone else.

"I just want to bury these rumours once and for all because this kind of thing doesn't do anyone any good."

Snapped up for a bargain £1.3 million in the summer, the 31-year-old midfielder has been a revelation so far during Rovers' return to the top-flight.

And it was his special relationship with manager Graeme Souness which ultimately persuaded him to come to Ewood in the first place after the pair worked successfully together during their time at Galatasaray in the mid-Nineties.

"I enjoy working for Graeme Souness, he's a great manager and a good person so I've no desire to work for anyone else," said Tugay.

The Turk's loyalty pledge also came as a welcome boost to Souness as he prepared for this afternoon's clash with Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

"As long as I'm at Blackburn Rovers then Tugay will stay here, too, because he's my man," said Souness.

"As soon as these stories first surfaced, he came to see me with a friend of his who speaks better English and insisted he had no intention of leaving. So I just hope all these rumours can now be put to bed once and for all."

Meanwhile, new club record signing Andy Cole was due to make his Rovers debut today following his £7.5 million move from Manchester United.

And his former Old Trafford team-mate, Henning Berg, has hailed his arrival as a massive boost for everyone connected with Blackburn Rovers.

"This is great news for us," said Berg. "Andy is a top goalscorer, we need someone to put the ball in the back of the net, and I'm sure he will improve the team no end. I've played both with him and against him and he's very difficult to play against.

"He's quick, he's sharp in the box and he'll always get chances in every game he plays so he's a top quality signing for us.

"He certainly couldn't have joined us at a better time because we are currently struggling to score goals and we've been on a bad run.

"But having said that, we are still only six points away from seventh place so the league at the moment is very, very tight. TURN TO PAGE 30 ROVERS: From back page

"If we had perhaps played a little bit better and taken more of our chances then we would have been comfortable now."

Although Berg has hailed Cole's arrival as a major coup for the club he is surprised that United boss Alex Ferguson agreed to let him go in the first place.

"I'm a little bit surprised they've let him go because when you look at his record I think he's been more or less the top scorer there over the last few years," said Berg.

"But when Alex Ferguson makes his mind up there's no way back and it seems like he preferred to play with Ruud and Ole.

"So it will be good for Andy to come here, play games and score goals."

Ferguson, meanwhile, insists he had no option but to sanction the 30-year-old's move after the former Newcastle star became increasingly disillusioned with life on the bench at Old Trafford.

"It was proving difficult to keep Andy happy," said the United chief.

"We've had seven great years from him, he's been absolutely fantastic for us, and he was finding it difficult to be a sub.

"And he's not the easiest sub to have around.

"So that was something I recognised and I felt it was time for him to move on."

COLE will not be available for Rovers' FA Cup clash with Barnsley on Saturday as any new signings must be completed at least seven days prior to the date of the tie.