Talking to the Sunday Sun, Alan Shearer (as expected) played down any link to the Newcastle job ... despite bookies slashing his odds to become the next manager.

Alan Shearer (asked about Sir Bobby Robson's comments that any prospective new owner should consider Shearer for a management role): "I'll say what I've said all along, the club needs to gain some stability, which it seems to be doing under Joe (Kinnear), and it needs to sort out the ownership situation.