Soccer:Newcastle legend Alan Shearer is certain he will not be the next manager of the club. The Magpies are on the hunt for a new boss after sacking Chris Hughton yesterday - and the former Toon number nine has been among the names mentioned as a possible successor.
But the 40-year-old, whose previous stint in charge of the club coincided with their relegation from the Barclays Premier League and ended in a falling-out with owner Mike Ashley, has ruled himself out.
"I won't be the next Newcastle manager," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. "I can guarantee you that. I have said never say never but I can guarantee I won't be the next Newcastle manager."
Hughton's sacking with Magpies sitting a creditable 11th in the Premier League took the football world by surprise. Shearer, in common with many others who have spoken out publicly, thinks the Newcastle hierarchy have made a misjudgment.
"I wonder to myself where they think Newcastle should be, if they think they should be higher than mid-table because I'm not being disrespectful to the squad but they're not going to be in the top six or seven.
"That isn't Newcastle's season. Newcastle's season this year should be all about staying in the Premier League. At this moment in time there's no danger of them (being relegated). They'll be there because there's teams that are worse than them.
"For me, Chris was doing a very, very fine job."
Ashley is hoping to appoint a replacement by the weekend. The Magpies hierarchy are talking to potential candidates and the names of Martin Jol, Alan Pardew and Alan Curbishley are firmly in the frame.
Tyneside legend and reserve team manager Peter Beardsley has been given temporary charge of team affairs ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with former club Liverpool.
However, it is believed that he could do so with a new manager already in place if Ashley gets his way.
Jol, who stepped down form his post at Ajax yesterday, swiftly replaced Pardew, sacked by Southampton in August, at the top of the betting. Curbishley has now settled his acrimonious dispute with West Ham, the club he left in September 2008 in protest at boardroom interference.
But the man who eventually succeeds Hughton will have to persuade Ashley that he can work within a very definite framework. The sportswear magnate has taken his own, highly individual approach to running the club he bought back in 2007 and it has been one which has more often sparked fury rather than praise.
A hugely successful businessman in his own right, he has attempted to introduce a greater degree of financial realism into an enterprise which, like many of its counterparts, has lived beyond its means for many years.
Relegation from the Premier League prompted swingeing budget cuts, and the club which emerged from the Championship at the first attempt this summer was a much leaner entity.
Hughton rebuilt for life in the top flight on a shoestring — he had no plans to invest in the team in January — and the man who replaces him should not expect to have cash thrown at him.
For that reason, former Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill is an outsider, although a man whose talent, experience and availability mean he is a favourite with the supporters.
Ashley’s blueprint was drawn up with the long-term in mind and predicated on the club’s continued presence in the Premier League and the financial stability that would provide, and his doubts over Hughton’s ability to deliver that this season, rightly or wrongly, were ultimately responsible for his demise.
In the meantime, Beardsley was today getting down to work with the players, who were training at St James’ Park, in preparation for Saturday evening’s game and the task of attempting to improve upon a return of just two points from the past five league games.