Newcastle don't want me, says Shearer
Wednesday, 16 January 2008 15:03Former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer has said he would have loved to become the club's new manager but was told they did not want him.
Shearer, currently working as a pundit for the BBC after retiring from playing 18 months ago, was among the favourites to take over from Sam Allardyce, who left the club last week, despite having no coaching experience.
The former England centre forward has made no secret of his desire to manage his hometown club at sometime but revealed today that although he was willing to take on the role, owner Mike Ashley was looking elsewhere.
'A couple of days after Sam Allardyce got the sack, I got a call from the club to say they were looking for an experienced manager, which ruled me out,' Shearer told The Sun newspaper.
'What I can say is that if you want someone to galvanise the dressing room, get them organised and playing then, yes, I think I could do that. If they want that and someone with experience then I'm not that man.
'I understand and respect their decision. But... there are plenty of people who have taken on big jobs in their first managerial role and made sure they have gathered experienced people around them.
'If they had asked me to meet the chairman to talk about this job, I would have done it.'
Shearer said that he would still consider helping out as an assistant to the new man, when he was appointed.
France's World Cup-winning captain and former Juventus coach Didier Deschamps is the latest name to be linked with the job after telling the Daily Telegraph: 'It would be an exciting challenge. Newcastle are a big club.'
The 39-year-old has been out or work since leaving Juventus in May and yesterday saw his odds of becoming the new Newcastle boss slashed to 2-1.
Deschamps spent a season in English football with Chelsea in 1999-2000, helping the club win the FA Cup.
His first job as manager saw him lead Monaco to the 2004 Champions League final before leading Juve to promotion from Serie B after their demotion for match fixing.
