Shearer says No...He won't be Keegan's right-hand man but Toon can share him with the Beeb

Shearer and Keegan met for four hours in Newcastle on Thursday night when the pair buried their feud, following Keegan's absence from Shearer's testimonial 18 months ago.

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Former England and Toon captain Shearer has made it clear he does not want to give up his BBC TV role, which has another 17 months to run.

But he is considering the offer of a coaching role within the extensive staff Keegan has inherited from Sam Allardyce.

Initially, Shearer, signed by Keegan for £15million from Blackburn 12 years ago, looks certain to work primarily with the strikers including former team-mate Michael Owen, the new club captain.

Keegan said: 'Alan will manage this club one day, no doubt.

'No one can put a time frame on it, but it would be better when the day comes if he knows the club and he is an insider as opposed to someone trying to guess what's happening.

'It was great to see him again. We had a very frank discussion, he asked all the right questions and I tried to give him the answers honestly and I, hopefully, asked him all the right questions.

'I told him all about the club and we had a great chat. He said he doesn't want to come in as a No 2 at the moment, but I think he's interested in joining us and I know there is a place here for him.

'He will come here in some capacity and we'll know that on Monday or Tuesday after he talks to his family.

'If we get strikers in and we have Alan here to work with them that would be fantastic. Wow. But he can offer more.

'He's well down the road with his coaching badges. When he stands and talks to players, even defenders, he can help. He has a wealth of experience and he has got the respect.

'This job will come for Alan and the perfect scenario is for him to come in, get more involved and eventually take over from me.

'I've three-anda- half years on my contract here, I will nearly be 60 and in a perfect world that sounds like it would make sense.

'The ball's very firmly in Alan's court. The board, the owner, the chairman, myself, the players and staff would really welcome him if he joins in some capacity which could change over the years, he could come in one position and advance. I'm convinced we can work together.'

Keegan takes his side to Arsenal today in the FA Cup fourth round and returns for a Barclays Premier League clash on Tuesday.

He will not select Joey Barton, who could have come back under his strict bail conditions, although the midfielder has been in high spirits in training with his team-mates.

Keegan said: 'When he comes back I'd like it to be a home game where we control the environment.'

Owen has admitted he was stunned when handed the club captaincy last weekend.

Owen told nufc.co.uk: 'It was a surprise, but subsequently he has come out and said if I want to keep it, see how it goes.'

Steven Taylor is ready to sign a new long-term contract after Keegan said he wanted to build the Newcastle defence around him.

England U21 centre back Taylor, 22, had feared he was being frozen out by Sam Allardyce.