The 24-year-old has had to watch on as the Magpies have slid down the table in recent months. But Ramage has now recovered from a serious knee injury which he picked up against Middlesbrough in August 2007.

The defender played for more than an hour as the club's reserve side drew with Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday night, and he is now confident of turning out in the Barclays Premier League again soon.

"I am dying to get back into the first-team picture - it has been a long seven months," Ramage said.

finish well

"All I want to do now is be part of the Newcastle team that gets out of trouble in the Premier League. The aim is to finish on a high, and hopefully I can help the team finish well and get out of this situation."

Newcastle came from behind to draw with Birmingham City on Monday but they remain very much in the scrap for survival and Ramage admits it has been a difficult time for him on the sidelines.

Ramage added: "It's great to be back and good to play that first game. It's been a long time, a frustrating time for me, especially the way the season has gone. At Birmingham we couldn't lose - and we didn't. There were plenty of positives. In the first half on Monday we did OK, and in the second half we improved. We deserved a point overall."