Last night's 2-2 draw with Manchester City at St James' Park may have been creditable after the Magpies lost Habib Beye to a red card early on, but it did little to ease a crisis which has left them entrenched in the relegation zone.

Joe Kinnear has been put in charge of team affairs while owner Mike Ashley looks to find a buyer for the Tyneside club, but former boss Sir Bobby Robson suggested on Sunday that Shearer was the man with the "clout" to lead them out of their slump in the long term.

The former striker, United's all-time leading scorer, is on his way to gaining the qualifications which are a prerequisite for aspiring managers in the Barclays Premier League - although the likes of Gareth Southgate and Paul Ince were granted exemptions to take the reigns at Middlesbrough and Blackburn, respectively, without them.

And Shearer has revealed he is already planning a career in management.

"Everyone knows that I've done part of my coaching badges. I haven't done my UEFA Pro Licence which is mandatory but I am going to do it at some stage," he told BBC Radio Five Live.

"Management interests me.

"I can't turn round and say 'yes, I would be delighted to come here (to Newcastle)', because that would be wrong of me.

"But management interests me, at some stage of my career."