BAD news for fans of Senegal – but great if you support Newcastle United.

The Toon faithful could see new signing Papiss Demba Cisse this week after his country’s early exit from the African Cup of Nations.

He and Demba Ba, who has been such a big hit, were expected to be involved pretty much for the duration of the tournament.

But Senegal have been disappointing, and now Newcastle could benefit.

Alan Pardew had bided his time over bringing in a new striker, and Cisse’s arrival could be the clincher as they chase a Europa League berth for next season.

It was interesting to read how the St James’ manager spent time in Germany in between leaving Southampton and arriving on Tyneside last season.

He visited Bundesliga clubs to see how they trained, and spotted Cisse playing for Freiburg, to whom Newcastle paid an initial £7.5m.

Ba came from West Ham on a free and has responded by scoring 15 goals in the Premier League, and if Cisse can chip in, Newcastle really will be a force to be reckoned with.

Pardew has some great players to choose from – Cheik Tiote, who remains on African Cup duty with Ivory Coast, keeper Tim Krul, Fabricio Coloccini and Yohan Cabaye among them.

That 5-2 defeat at Fulham was a setback, but Newcastle have enough about them to bounce back and get their campaign on course again.

While Sunderland’s resurgence makes it a lively time to follow football in the North-East, things are also looking good down in South Wales.

Cardiff’s march to the Carling Cup final will bring another Wembley trip for fans who have been there in the 2008 FA Cup and 2010 Championship play-offs.

Malky Mackay has made his mark since moving from Watford in the close-season, and will be keen to ensure the cup run doesn’t take over from a promotion push.

It’s worth remembering how close Town came to putting Cardiff out in the second round, and it’s good to see the side who defeated us doing so well in the competition.

And as for Cardiff’s big rivals Swansea, aren’t they proving their worth in the Premier League?

They are playing some very attractive football under Brendan Rodgers, who has been tipped for big things, and hopefully they will be able to maintain the momentum for the remainder of this season.