Last night's 3-2 victory against Reading at St James' Park saw injury-ravaged Newcastle climb two points clear of the Premiership relegation zone. Antoine Sibierski put the Magpies in front in the 23rd minute but the Royals fought back to take the lead courtesy of a brace from James Harper. Referee Rob Styles then awarded the home side a controversial penalty, converted by Obafemi Martins, before Emre grabbed the winner with a brilliant strike six minutes from time. Givemefootball's Mark Shail logged the thoughts of Toon's reserve goalkeeper Steve Harper as he reflected on last's thrilling win, as well as revealing his aspirations to take up refereeing when he hangs up his gloves.
Q:THE PLAYERS MUST HAVE BEEN DELIGHTED WITH LAST NIGHT'S RESULT?
A:Yes, we've managed to take our European form into our league games and the last couple of results were must-win games for us, so things are looking good at the moment.
Q:IS IT TRUE THAT THE NEWCASTLE FANS REALLY GOT BEHIND THE TEAM LAST NIGHT?
A:Yeah, we need them, when you're struggling you need them to get behind you and they certainly did that last night. The fans have been always been brilliant up here and 2-1 down at half time obviously wasn't ideal. But after their cups of tea (!) they really got behind the team in the second half and they were like a 12th man for us.
Q:READING WERE AGGRIEVED WITH THE PENALTY DECISION, WHAT DID YOU MAKE OF IT?
A:I haven't really seen it. I did ask the referee at half time if there was any chance of him giving us about five penalties in the second half and he gave us one within ten minutes of the second half, so I felt a bit guilty.
Q:IS IT TRUE THAT YOU ARE ONE OF THE RARE FOOTBALLERS WHO IS A QUALIFIED REFEREE?
A:I am, yes, and I would love to take up refereeing when I finish playing. The standard of refereeing in this country is pretty good, although we all know the good ones and the not so good ones, but I think it's something that ex-footballers should be allow to pursue.
Q:DO YOU THINK EX-PLAYERS WOULD MAKE GOOD REFEREES?
A:I think they would but the Referees' Association seem to be questioning why ex-footballers should be fast-tracked over people who have refereed since the age of 15 or 16. But the problem with being a player is that you don't get a lot of opportunities to referee while you are playing, so it's a bit of a double-edged sword. But I certainly think the experience of footballers would certainly help referees.
Q:WHAT DO YOU PUT THE TERRIBLE INJURY PROBLEMS AT THE CLUB DOWN TO?
A:Well, 99 per cent of the injuries are happening in games so you can't really question the training methods. We had six surgeries before the end of November, so we seem to be a bit cursed this season. We are down to the bare bones but we've still managed to pick up a couple of great results.
Q:YOU'VE BEEN VERY LOYAL TO NEWCASTLE SINCE 1993, HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED MOVING ON IN SEARCH OF MORE REGULAR FIRST TEAM FOOTBALL?
A:I didn't sign for Newcastle until I was 18 and I spent the first four or five years building up and learning my trade because I was very raw. Since then I've been on loan and had to wait five years for my chance in the first team, which I got this season when Shay was injured. I thought I did okay but I've been unlucky because I've been stuck behind a very good goalkeeper in Shay. I love this club but obviously every player wants to play games.
Q:DO YOU THINK YOU WILL SPEND THE REST OF YOUR CAREER AT NEWCASTLE?
A:I don't know. I've got two years left on my contract, which takes me to 34, still relatively young for a keeper and I'd like to think I'll have plenty of mileage left after that. But in football you never know what is going to happen next month let alone next summer – I certainly don't want to be stuck on my backside for the rest of my career.
