Source: Daily_Mail
There's only one Alan Shearer! Easy decision for Newcastle, says Derek Llambias
Newcastle managing director Derek Llambias has revealed Alan Shearer was the only man to whom the club could have turned in the search for a saviour.
The Magpies sprang a major surprise last week when, after repeated speculation that Terry Venables could be drafted in to replace the recovering Joe Kinnear as manager, they managed to persuade Shearer to take charge for the final eight games of the season.
It is understood tests carried out on Kinnear in the wake of his triple heart bypass have shown all is going well, but that he will not be able to return to work for a further two months.
Saturday's 2-0 home defeat by Chelsea left the club three points adrift of safety with just 21 left to play for.
But Shearer remains optimistic of pulling off a great escape, and the men who appointed him - Llambias and owner Mike Ashley - are convinced they have got the right man for the job.
Llambias told the Evening Chronicle: 'We had to weigh up the situation. We were in a position where we had to make a move and Alan was the best move.
'He was the only person we approached, we felt that was our only choice.
'He has made a difference. He's a straight talker, I like that about him. There is no nonsense.
'I'm really upbeat about it. He's got the respect, he's loved in this town and so he should be.
'Alan has got Iain Dowie with him and that's a good balance, but Alan is making the decisions.
'Iain is assisting on the football side of it and the energy within the training camp. I'm really encouraged by it all.'
What will really encourage Shearer, Llambias and anyone else linked with the club is a positive result from Saturday's crucial trip to Stoke.
The Potters are currently six points better off than Newcastle in 13th
place, but an away win at the Britannia Stadium would claw them back into the melee at the bottom.
Shearer's arrival has certainly lifted spirits on Tyneside and a crowd of around 7,500 turned out to watch him put his players through their paces in an open training session at St James' Park yesterday (Tuesday).
Llambias said: 'It's been a tremendous boost for everybody in the town and around the stadium.
'The players are very upbeat and looking forward to the next game.'
However, that optimism will soon evaporate if a meagre points total of 29 does not start improving quickly.
Shearer and Dowie are leaving nothing to chance as they attempt to foster a recovery and have been at the training ground until 7pm each night.
Dowie said: 'All we want to do is make sure this town has a top-flight team. Nothing else matters, not one individual, it's just keeping the team up.
'Alan is a football man and all he wants to talk about is football. He's not here as a figurehead, he's here to do it right and that should be credited.
'It was easy for him to stay where he was, but he has not done that. He has come here and he wants to make a change.'
