BBC Sports

Shearer to become Newcastle boss

31st March 2009

Alan Shearer is set to be appointed as Newcastle manager until the end of the season, BBC Sport understands.

The former Magpies striker, 38, has often been linked with a return to St James' Park but in the past has been critical of its management structure.

Shearer would be owner Mike Ashley's fourth managerial appointment this season as the club fights relegation.

Kevin Keegan was replaced by Joe Kinnear, who then had heart surgery, with Chris Hughton taking over as boss.

But with Hughton in temporary charge, Newcastle have slipped into the relegation zone and are currently third from bottom of the Premier League.

Shearer scored 206 goals in 404 appearances during a 10-year playing stint at Newcastle to earn legendary status on Tyneside after joining for a record £15m fee from Blackburn.

The former England striker, who retired from playing in 2006, has made no secret of his desire to become a manager one day.

However, it had been thought that Shearer, who is a pundit on BBC TV's Match of the Day, had been put off returning to St James' Park by the regime of Ashley - which he described as "strange" following Keegan's shock exit.

The same month, Shearer rejected an offer to join the club's coaching staff.

Both on and off the pitch, Newcastle have lurched from one crisis to the next this season following the departure of Keegan early in the campaign.

Following a fans' backlash over Keegan's exit, Ashley raised the possibility of selling the club, before deciding to stay on.

Key striker Michael Owen has been involved in just four games this year because of an ankle injury, while Charles N'Zogbia moved to Wigan in the January transfer window after a high-profile bust-up with Kinnear.

Newcastle, who have 29 points from 30 matches, host third-placed Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday with eight games of the season left.