BBC Sport

ENGLAND OPEN DOOR FOR SHEARER

Saturday, 6 December, 2003

England would pick Alan Shearer for Euro 2004 if the Newcastle striker came out of international retirement, England assistant coach Tord Grip says.

"He's the best goalscorer in England, that's for sure. Michael Owen is struggling with injuries so Shearer is a good option," Grip told the Guardian.

But the Swede said he and England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson would not pressure Shearer to change his mind.

"He knows that he can be there if he wants to be. The decision is his."

Grip also said that his long-time working partner Eriksson was likely to resist any overtures to return to club management - at least until the 2006 World Cup, when his first contract ends.

Eriksson has been consistently linked with a move to Chelsea after Euro 2004 next summer.

And the Football Association has recently offered him a contract extension until the 2008 World Cup to try to get him to commit to England.

But Grip said: "I think Sven seems to have settled in a little bit more and it looks like he is going to stay until his contract is over, I think.

"The first contract, anyway. I don't know what's happening with the other.

"Sven has been linked to so many clubs - Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, all these clubs. But he has stayed here. He has done his job so far and I think he will in the future.

He added that 2008 was "perhaps a little far away - to say now, I mean".

Grip said he and Eriksson have continued to consider the possibility of Shearer coming out of retirement because of the dearth of English strikers.

But he admitted that Shearer may be playing so well at the moment because, at 32, he has more time to recover because he is not playing so many games.

"Since he decided not to play for England, he has had a little bit more time to recover from all the matches you have here. You can see the result. It's a pity for us, I must say."

He said the situation was similar to one facing his and Eriksson's home country, Sweden, who are trying to persuade Celtic striker Henrik Larsson out of international retirement.

"Alan Shearer himself has to take that decision. I don't think it's right to - not to push him exactly - but if you ask him, that means he has to do something.

"He has to think about it or perhaps just say, 'No, I have already decided.'

"If he has it in mind, it must come from him first of all. I think it's the same with Larsson. Sweden don't push him, don't ask him; but they know, and he knows, that he can be there [Euro 2004], if he wants to be. It's the same with Shearer.

"If you look at it from a goalscoring point of view, you have an English striker on top, it's logical. The decision is his."