Les Ferdinand is convinced former Newcastle United teammate Alan Shearer will stay as manager of the Toon.

Sir Les, who played alongside Shearer at the Toon, told The Sun: "I think whatever happens this season, Alan will stay.

"People know this is the job he's always wanted, he has it now and he's got his coaching team in place for the future, so I don't see him letting go of it easily. There are issues to be ironed out with Joe Kinnear and we all wish him a speedy recovery.

"But if Alan keeps Newcastle in the Premier League, which I think he will, the clamour for him to stay will be just too great to ignore. The fans will be camping outside his house to persuade him to stay because he's such an icon up there.

"If you look at the squad available to Alan, it has the quality to be in the top 10 if everyone stays fit. So they should have enough. But the main question people are asking is 'Does he have enough time to turn things round?'

"Even if they do go down, Alan's not the kind of man to walk away from a challenge.

"He'll stay to help them rebuild and come back stronger and, as a true Geordie, it's a test he'd tackle head-on. When I played alongside him, you could always see he was nailed on to be a manager. So it's no surprise he's taken on Newcastle as his first job.

"He demanded the best out of himself and from his team-mates and he'll do the same from the dugout. As a player, he had an old head on young shoulders, now he's got an old head on old shoulders!"