Shepherd in dig at Owen

Shepherd, who has made clear his frustration over Owen's injury-hit St James' Park career, said Owen had work to do to repay the fans' loyalty.

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He told BBC Radio Five's Sportsweek: "I think he owes Newcastle quite a lot, I'll put it as bluntly as that.

"I think he's played more times for England than he has for Newcastle, so I think he owes the supporters quite a lot."

Owen has played only 13 games for the club since joining for £17million from Real Madrid two years ago.

He broke a bone in his foot then suffered a serious knee injury on World Cup duty.

In May, Shepherd accused Owen's representatives of seeking to engineer his departure from the club.

And he told Liverpool fans in a video clip which later surfaced on the internet that he would "carry him back" to Anfield.

Shepherd said he would have preferred to remain in the Newcastle hotseat but claimed he was effectively made redundant following the completion of the takeover of the club by billionaire Mike Ashley.

He added: "He's been around the block a few times. He's not a shrinking violet and he knows all about business, so I'm sure he'll know how to handle it and do a good job.

"It's a new era for the fans and with the money that Mike's got hopefully they'll put it to good use and go forward. There's nothing I'd love more than seeing them win something this season."

But Shepherd has claimed only illness prevented him battling Ashley for control at St James' Park.

Sportswear tycoon Ashley shocked the football world when he bought more than 40% of the club's shares from the Hall family in May, and later went on to purchase Shepherd's 29% stake as he successfully completed a takeover of the club.

Shepherd claims he first heard about the Halls' decision to sell during a recent spell in hospital suffering the effects of pneumonia and a collapsed lung.

He insists the Halls' deal "had been done behind my back", and is adamant that he would have battled to stave off Ashley's takeover attempt had it not been for his ill health.

"I was too ill to put up a fight. Had I not been in the state I was, if I hadn't have been in hospital, things might have been different," he told The Mail on Sunday.

"I believe I could have found enough backing to make a counter-bid but it was more or less a fait accompli.

"If I had been fit I might have taken up the challenge but I was lying on my back without the strength to do anything.

"My main priority was to get well again. I was told later that my condition was very serious and potentially fatal."