Shearer back on Keegan radar

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The 4-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday extended Newcastle's run without a win to nine games and forced them to consider the possibilty of relegation from the Barclays Premier League.

Keegan's return has failed to galvanise a set of players short on numbers, quality and confidence and he will make another effort to persuade Shearer that he can find the time in his schedule to do more than just take the occasional coaching session.

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Shearer turned down the opportunity to be No 2 at St James' Park following Sam Allardyce's sacking because of his television commitments.

His TV contract is due for renewal in the summer and the 37-year-old has intimated to friends that then will be the time for his move into management, most likely away from Newcastle, where chairman Chris Mort has repeatedly told him he will not succeed Keegan until he has experience.

Shearer ruled out a move to his first club Southampton on Monday to take over from George Burley and once again cited a lack of time in his schedule as a major reason.

Keegan, however, desperately needs to find a spark to ignite a club in major trouble and wants Shearer on board.

'I've definitely not given up on it,' he said. 'What we have agreed is that he is going to come in training with us to start off with and then we are going to revisit it later when the commitments that he's made to other people are no longer in place.

'The door is left absolutely wide open. It's up to Alan and me to come up with the right solution for him coming in here. I've left the door wide open because I respect him and know that he would bring something to the party.

'He's now got a bit of time to think about it and he will think about it deeply. As he always has done in his life, he will come up with the right decision. I've definitely not given up on it and Alan's not said anything to my knowledge that suggests he doesn't want to do it. I think deep down he does.'

Shearer said: 'I'm going to be very busy for the next six or seven months. I've got my BBC commitments and my charity work. I'm also working on getting my Uefa Pro licence. I wish Southampton all the best.'

Steven Taylor, meanwhile, has called on his Newcastle team-mates to take a long, hard look at themselves during their two weeks without a game to ensure the club moves away from the clutches of relegation.

'We are in a bit of a hole now and we've got to dig ourselves out of it and stick together,' he said. 'We can't afford to feel sorry for ourselves. It has been tough and we've got to get through it.

'At the training ground we have to sort things out. We are a massive club and it is up to us to sort it out. We've got a 15-day break and I think we've got to get back to the drawing board. We've got enough time to get things sorted.

'We need to look at games, look at what has been going wrong. For us, set-pieces have been a massive thing this season. That's all we can do, stay together and work hard. The manager has told the lads to stick together.'

Newcastle face Manchester United and Blackburn at home and travel to Liverpool in the next month and Taylor added: 'It has been a difficult few months for us and these aren't easy fixtures, but we have to deal with that.'