 TO many fully-fledged members of the Toon Army, the name Francisco Jimenez Tejada does not mean a lot. Throw in the name Xisco and the penny instantly drops with Newcastle United supporters, who feel at £5.7m the Spanish striker has been a letdown so far. Nobody needs to tell the former Deportivo la Coruna striker any of that but, with Newcastle’s crucial run-in coinciding with his return from a broken toe, Xisco is determined to give United fans a taste of the player who shone for the Riazor outfit in La Liga. Kevin Keegan’s departure promptly followed Xisco’s arrival at St James’s Park – and allegedly proved the straw which broke the camel’s back as far as the Messiah was concerned. Given that Keegan showed willingness to return to Tyneside on the eve of Xisco’s debut, a game in which he netted his first goal for the Mags, shows other underlying factors pushed KK to breaking point. While injuries have marred the start of his career in Toon, Xisco re-iterated the whole reason he came to Tyneside to start with. He said in an in-depth interview with the Chronicle: “I came here to be a success in the Premier League, and do well for what I still see as a big club. “I have not been too lucky. I have not had a chance when I have been fit, and then when I had a chance I became injured. “That is football – it is my job. I had a groin injury, and I have had problems with my hamstring. Then came the broken toe.” Just when Xisco was beginning to break back into the first-team picture, after a cameo appearance at West Brom, he broke his toe in a reserve game in his attempts to score a hat-trick against Wigan Athletic. After a handful of first-team opportunities, Xisco was looking good in a black and white shirt after firing in a brace – until his injury curse struck again. He added: “When I came off the pitch my toe was inflamed and then I discovered the next day it was broken.” | 
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