Sir Les: Cats beware, Oba's full of surprises

Apr 20 2008 by Dan Sheridan, Sunday Sun

A TYNE-WEAR derby hero himself, Les Ferdinand sees a potential successor today in Obafemi Martins.

Ferdinand scored a winner for Newcastle at Roker Park in 1996, but believes Martins is a would-be matchwinner less in his own image and more in the mould of a team-mate from yesteryear.

And Ferdinand has told Martins and co that they will become living legends if they earn United victory over the old enemy this lunchtime.

“You just don’t know what you’re going to get from Obafemi Martins, and we had a player not to dissimilar when I played here called Faustino Asprilla,” said Ferdinand.

“He was absolutely brilliant and could do things that no one else could do and I think Martins can do the same.

“Sunderland should beware . . . he does the unexpected when you least expect it!”

Assuming you know what he is getting at, Ferdinand added: “If Kevin can get the team playing to his (Martins’) strengths, then things could really take off.

“He (Martins) is applying himself at the moment, and we know how well he can do and what kind of player he is.

“He’ll be as excited as anyone about working with Kevin Keegan and we’ve seen a different Obafemi Matins since Kevin came in.

“When you have a player of his ability, big clubs will always come sniffing around – especially if they think there’s a problem.

“There’ll always be enquiries about players like Martins, but only he can decide whether he wants to stay and play for this great club.”

Not that the Nigerian is United’s only goalscoring threat, of course.

“All three Newcastle strikers are in a rich vein of form,” added Ferdinand. “They’re playing well and scoring goals.

“Everyone wants to finish the season on a high and these players know that if they score in this derby, they’ll go down in Newcastle folklore.”

And Sir Les, as his nickname suggests, should know.