Source: Eurosport
Toon chief hails Beye brilliance
Alan Shearer has heaped praise on Habib Beye and urged him to carry on impressing as Newcastle seek to climb out of relegation trouble.The 31-year-old Senegal defender has shown the Magpies just what they had been missing since his return from a nasty ankle injury last month, and goes into Monday night's crucial clash with Portsmouth as one of the troubled club's most in-form players.Beye was sidelined for almost three months after finding himself on the end of a rugged challenge by Wigan's Lee Cattermole on Boxing Day.However, he returned as a substitute in the 3-1 home defeat by Arsenal on March 21 and has been a fixture in the side since, either at right-back or centre-half with Shearer having been forced to be creative with his injury-hit defence.But whatever Beye has been asked to do, he has done, and Shearer has been hugely impressed with his efforts in difficult circumstances.He said: "He has been brilliant. He is a really, really top professional, a really good athlete and the games he has played in, he has done very well."We will be looking for more of the same from him in the remaining games."I have been very impressed with him. He has great experience."Beye, a £2million signing from Marseille in August 2007, is one of the few Sam Allardyce signings to make an impact at St James' Park.He will be needed once again tonight, perhaps in central defence with Steven Taylor struggling with an ankle injury.Shearer initially adopted a three-man rearguard at Tottenham last Sunday with Beye, Taylor and Sebastien Bassong starting at the back, although Taylor's injury and the fact his side had to chase the game resulted in a reshuffle before the break.Left-back Jose Enrique could return from a knee problem and with Ryan Taylor having played at right-back as well as on the right side of midfield, Beye and Frenchman Bassong could yet find themselves at the middle of a back four dealing with towering Pompey striker Peter Crouch.However, that would not worry their manager unduly.Shearer said: "He and Sebastian Bassong have probably been the top performers for us in the three games that I have been here."I will be looking for more of the same from the two of them."Newcastle's need could hardly be more pressing as they target victory in each of their remaining home games to give themselves a chance of avoiding the drop.Shearer said: "We are in this position, it's a tough position, but I believe we have got enough fight and enough bottle and enough decent players to get us out of it."[LNB]
