SOCCER:Alan Shearer will spend the weekend pondering an invitation from Kevin Keegan to join Newcastle United's backroom staff, but he does not want to become the assistant manager. The two ended a long silence when they met and talked for several hours on Thursday, following Shearer's return from a trip to Uganda.

"I was with Alan for four hours, I really enjoyed it - it was fantastic just to talk again. For a year and a half we'd sort of lost touch," said Keegan. "We had a very frank discussion. He asked all the right questions and I tried to give him the answers honestly. At the end of it he said, 'I definitely don't want to come in as a number two', so that's clear. But I think Alan's still interested in coming in to join us."

It is similarly apparent that Newcastle's players are delighted by Sam Allardyce's replacement. Michael Owen has issued a thinly veiled criticism of the former manager's tactics.

"If you look at our squad, we aren't suited to anything else but to play football. Mark Viduka is a big lad but you wouldn't want to knock long balls on to his head; he needs it into feet."

Keegan hopes Shearer will help him re-programme Owen and company.

"Alan's going to talk it over with Lainya (his wife) and we're going to talk again on Monday," he said. "It could be part-time, but I know there's a place here for Alan and it would be in a very worthwhile role. But there's no pressure on him to come and join us, it's whether he wants to."

Keegan hopes Shearer will succeed him. "I think you'll find the only club Alan would want to manage is this one and this job will come for him, there's no doubt he'll manage this club one day. The perfect scenario would be for him to come in gradually."