The Newcastle coach has underlined the importance of a fully fit Milicevic to the Jets line-up.

"Ljubo in particular is such a key player for us not only for his physical presence and his ablity on the ball but for his leadership qualities," said Culina.

"For the first time in many weeks there was someone talk at the back and it was Ljubo again being Ljubo. There was a period of time when Ljubo wasn't Ljubo. He was too quiet.

"At the start of the season he was too vocal and people didn't like that but I would rather have that Ljubo then the one we had for about four or five weeks when we really needed him."

Culina is now full of optimism that Milicevic and his teammates can start pushing up the table. He also believes Fabio Vignaroli has an important role to play in that push.

"Fabio provides us with a lot of experience," Culina added. "He is a guy who has played at a very high level and in that holding midfield role he is very good. He can break up play and he can start the attack, so he is good value for us."