 MARLON Harewood feels he is starting to rebuild his confidence and regain some form after revealing he has been invigorated by the youthful enthusiasm of Andy Carroll. Harewood has struggled to convince United fans he deserves to extend his three-month spell at St James’ Park with just one goal in eight appearances and a general lack of zest in his performances. But the striker revealed in The Journal last week that he is would love to stay on Tyneside as he argued he has not been able to show what he is capable of in a black and white shirt because of a lack of match practice. With Shola Ameobi close to a return to first-team action after almost three months on the sidelines with a stress fracture in his foot, Harewood has much to prove over the next six weeks if he is going to avoid the letdown of a return to Aston Villa’s reserve team. “I do feel as if I’m getting back into the groove,” said Harewood, who has shown admirable strength of character to deal with the criticism fired at him over the last few weeks. “It’s nice to be back involved on a matchday again and I can feel myself getting stronger and sharper. I’ve had to get used to the players here but I feel it’s starting to come together. If I can get a few goals as well I think that will help me.” Given the well-documented troubles at Newcastle over the summer, some would argue Harewood must have been desperate to leave Aston Villa and, to an extent, he was. Frustrated and bored as he became little more than a reserve player, the 30-year-old was looking for first-team football first and foremost, but he was pleasantly surprised when he first stepped into the United dressing room. He said: “I couldn’t believe the spirit in the camp. It’s unbelievable. I didn’t expect to come into such a warm environment. When you read everything that was going on in the summer, I didn’t expect to find a team which pulls together so well. “The main focus of everyone here is just to get Newcastle back into the Premier League and I would love to stay and be a part of that if the manager wants me. I did feel as though I needed to get out of Aston Villa. I wanted to be playing and I wasn’t doing that. I needed to find an alternative and Newcastle gave me this opportunity. “They’ve got a lot of strikers at the club and such good players. I was involved with the squad, but I wasn’t getting a game on a Saturday and that is really frustrating. “I felt I would be better going somewhere on loan, getting some games and getting my sharpness back. Thankfully Villa agreed and I was delighted to come here.” And, while things may not have gone entirely to plan for him on a personal level, Harewood added he is thoroughly enjoying the chance to play alongside a player with Carroll’s raw potential. Although the Gateshead-striker is a rival for a place in the side, Harewood believes the Magpies have a potential star in the making as he predicted the 20-year-old would get stronger and better. He said: “Andy is coming on nicely. “I knew a little bit about him before I came, but he has really impressed me. In fact it’s nice to play alongside someone like him. He’s a young guy, he’s always fresh and he gets you really up for it. I don’t think of myself as old, but obviously I’m at a different stage of my career and he has given me a new lease of life really. “He makes you want to go out there and give it everything. I want to help him, it’s been really nice to have met someone like him. “He’s still only 20 and I’m sure he is going to get even stronger. He’s going to be a nightmare for defenders. They’ve done a really good job here with him and the coaches deserve a lot of credit for that. I think he has an excellent career ahead of him if he carries on like he is at the moment.” | 
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