Stoke City skipper Andy Griffin believes former Newcastle teammate Alan Shearer can keep his old club up.

"With eight games left, it's going to be a challenge, but I don't see any reason why Alan can't make a big impact," said Griffin. "Normally, a team picks up under any new manager, but with everything that Alan will bring to the club, you can see that effect being more dramatic at Newcastle.

"This will give the players a kick up the backside and the fans a huge lift."

Griffin, who spent more than six years alongside Shearer at St James's Park, added: "There were quite a few superstars at Newcastle when I arrived there, but Alan still had a special aura about him.

"Having said that, and despite all his achievements, he was very modest and always made time to listen or talk to you if you needed it.

"So I've got no doubt he can be a success as a manager. And as long as that doesn't happen at our expense, I'll be delighted.

"It would be a sin for a club the size of Newcastle to go down, but they've had to face up to the possibility.

"One thing's for certain, a big game against them next week just got even bigger. I'd like to think that we can win it and both teams will stay up."