THERE are some jobs in sport which make banging your head against a brick wall seem pleasant by comparison. For years interviewers probing Lester Piggott would have got more out of his horse. And nobody ever knew whether you would get a kiss or a cuff from Brian Clough. But when it comes to talking about tomorrow's FA Cup Final, it would be easier to get past Arsenal's celebrated back four than the guard of Kenny Dalglish.
What would be the key area in Newcastle's clash with Arsenal on Saturday, Dalglish was asked at his FA Cup news conference? The little rectangle with white lines around it, he replied, in what was presumably an attempt at Glaswegian humour - though even Billy Connolly, you suspect, would not have recognised it as such. How did he view champions Arsenal? We're the form team at the moment, we've won one and lost one, they've lost two. Was he happy at Newcastle? I prefer Wembley. I can't see any relevance in that question.
Poker-faced yet polite, relaxed but guarded, open to questions yet shut to any meaningful insight. In terms of the charm offensive launched by Newcastle to try and repair the damage done by a season which has been one long public relations nightmare, it was an opportunity lost. But then Dalglish is a man who deals in results rather than rhetoric and he knows that there is no better way to charm the fans than to return the FA Cup to St James' Park for the first time since 1955. Kevin Keegan spent £60m trying to bring a trophy back to Tyneside and failed, despite five unforgettable years of exhilarating, entertaining football. After 15 months at St James' Park, during which magnetism has been sacrificed for pragmatism, Dalglish stands on the verge of lifting the most romantic trophy in the English game.
It's a paradox not lost on Newcastle chairman Sir John Hall: ''Kevin was a revolutionary. He came back into the game with an open mind and tried to play football when the game wasn't ready for the kind of football he wanted to play. Now Kenny's getting it right. Our PR hasn't been good and we've got to get back to the people. The big prize this season was staying in the Premier League, but never underestimate this club; we fight best when we are down. It would be a tremendous tribute to the fans if we could lift the cup."
While Dalglish also knows the importance of the result for the fans, naturally his primary concern is for his players. ''It's not the team you pick you worry about, it's the ones who are left out, he said, admitting he was still agonising over his final team selection. Lots of players have made a contribution to the cup run and my biggest disappointment is having to leave someone out of a cup final.''
Win or lose tomorrow, Newcastle are guaranteed a place in the Cup Winners' Cup next season, with champions Arsenal going into the Champions League. We've got into Europe because we deserve to get into Europe, Kenny straight-batted. "On that front, this season has been a success. We have also got to the sixth round of the Coca-Cola Cup and the FA Cup Final. And while the biggest scrutiny is always on the League there have been times this season when our success has been dismissed. I don't think people have been honest enough to give the players credit for other tournaments.
As for Arsenal, Dalglish is respectful but quietly confident: They'll be the favourites with the bookies, but the bookies paid out early on Manchester United this season so we won't be taking any notice of that. Arsenal can't have too many deficiencies if they won the League championship, but it doesn't mean they can't be beaten.
It wasn't exactly a rousing, wear-your-heart-on-your-sleeve battle cry in the mould of Keegan. But it was the way of Dalglish the winner.