Source: SKY_Sports
Shearer - Magpies can survive
Alan Shearer remains confident Newcastle will avoid Premier League relegation, despite beginning his managerial tenure with a defeat to Chelsea at St James' Park.[LNB] The former Magpies captain has replaced Joe Kinnear, who is recovering from heart surgery, on an eight-game basis as his hometown club battle the drop.[LNB]Newcastle - who sit in 18th position, three points from safety as a result of the defeat - hope the appointment of Shearer will produce a much-needed boost in the fight to stay in top flight.[LNB]But a header from the superb Frank Lampard and a second goal from Florent Malouda ensured the ex-England star started with a setback after taking up his role on Wednesday.[LNB]Shearer, though, remains upbeat, telling Sky Sports: "There were plenty of positives, one or two negatives as well, but there were plenty of positives from the game.[LNB]"Effort-wise, no problem. We have got another six or seven days to work with them now.[LNB]Response"The response from the players over the past two or three days has been great, but there is a lot of hard work to be done.[LNB]"We haven't got a lot of time, we know that. But I think we will get there."[LNB]An error from centre-back Fabricio Coloccini, who hesitated in possession, allowed Lampard to open the scoring in the second half and Shearer recognises the incident was decisive. [LNB]"A mistake in the second half has cost us," he added.[LNB]"When you go 1-0 down to a team like Chelsea, you are reluctant to try and change it too much and open it up because of the quality they possess.[LNB]Fault"You are always liable to the counter-attack and that is what happened (for the second goal)."[LNB]Shearer also confirmed that winger Peter Lovenkrands is in a stable condition after leaving the stadium by ambulance at half-time following an accidental elbow to the ribs from Chelsea's Florent Malouda.[LNB]"He was struggling to breathe. He was taken to hospital as a precaution. They tell me he is stable," he explained.[LNB]Shearer, Newcastle's record goalscorer, also refuses to blame referee Rob Styles for failing to spot that Ashley Cole cleared a Michael Owen effort from behind the line with 15 minutes remaining, which could have set up a grandstand conclusion.[LNB]"I could quite clearly see from where I was standing that it was in. No, I couldn't really, I'm just getting into the manager's clich? he joked.[LNB]"I think TV replays show it was in. It might have given us a rousing last five or ten minutes. But it is all ifs and buts. We get on with it. It is not his fault we lost."[LNB]