Newcastle United football club slipped into the red in the first half of the season as it spent big in a bid to win a lucrative European Champions League spot.

Manager Bobby Robson spent more than �16m on players, as the club recorded a �1.4m loss in the six months to the end of January.

Newcastle made a loss of �6.1m on transfers, with big money signings Laurent Robert and Craig Bellamy hitting the balance sheet.

The investment is showing signs of paying off, however, with Newcastle handily placed to grab fourth place in the Premier League, and a money-spinning entry into the Champions League next season.

European ambition

"Our ambition is to get into European football, and we hope that will be the Champions League next season," said John Fender, non-executive chairman of the Plc company.

Mr Fender highlighted the underlying strength of the business, with turnover up 11% to �35.8m - helped by a 37% boost in television revenue.

Operating profit before player trading was up 16% at �7.9m.

He said the club continued to gain from the enlargement of St James' Park to its 52,200 capacity at the start of last season, making it the second biggest Premiership ground after Manchester United's Old Trafford.

The club has also managed to keep the cost of players' wages at 42% of turnover - compared with the average of 50% for Premier League clubs.

The squad has been reduced to the low 30's from 54 in former manager Ruud Gullit's day and the average age of the squad brought down to 23.

Robson continues on a one-year rolling contract.

Newcastle shares were unchanged at 21.5p in morning trading, making the company worth �31.2m.