Former Newcastle player Jermaine Jenas, now at Tottenham, just hopes Toon boss Alan Shearer has enough time to save their season. The midfielder, Shearer's former team-mate, said: "I wasn't surprised when he came in, I was expecting it all season.

"I'm sure he will do really well. I was reading that Shay (Given), another of my old team-mates, was worried that they may have left it too late. You hope it isn't too late."

"If you look at the size of the club, nobody would have said at the start of the season they could have gone down," Jenas said. "It's unfortunate they are in that position and they will be scrapping.

"For a club like Newcastle to drop out of the Premier League is massive. We need to make sure we are up for the fight ourselves."

Jenas saw Shearer develop managerial qualities while he was still playing.

"Sir Bobby Robson was the main man, the manager, but anywhere else you looked in the club it was Alan Shearer running it," he said. "I had no doubt in my mind that he would be manager soon. He is a leader."