Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has reportedly ruled out sacking Sam Allardyce to replace him with Alan Shearer.

Toon legend Shearer is a massive fan favourite on Tyneside, and the popular choice to take over if Allardyce were to pay the price for yet another under-achieving season by the St James' Park side.

But Ashley says it's not the time to panic, and believes bringing in managerial rookie Shearer is not an option.

A senior source close to Ashley told The News of the World: "Mike wouldn't employ an undergraduate fresh out of business school to run one of his companies, so why would he trust Newcastle to a rookie?

"His view is that you have to trust people. Mike's not here as a flash in the pan owner, he's here for the long term and knows there's no point creating instability by sacking a manager every five minutes."