Second-half goals from Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda eased the Champions League quarter-finalists to within a point of Barclays Premier League leaders Manchester United and left the Magpies three points adrift of safety.

However, Shearer saw enough in the opening 45 minutes to reinforce his belief that disaster can be averted.

He said: "I am optimistic still, I am still confident that we can avoid the drop and my players are too, which is more important.

"One game in football is a hell of a long time - we have got seven.

"I am sure there are going to be twists and turns between now and the end of the season.

"Results-wise, other teams - that's gone against us as well, but we know we are in a fight and we will give it a fight."

Optimism on Tyneside remained high until the 56th-minute when Newcastle's luck ran out.

Up until that point, they had kept themselves in the game with some determined defending, but they were finally breached when Fabricio Coloccini's 56th-minute clearance was blocked and Lampard fed the ball through to Nicolas Anelka.

The Frenchman's chipped shot came back off the woodwork and fell invitingly for Lampard, who calmly headed it into the empty net.

It was 2-0 within nine minutes when Lampard slid Malouda in and he shot expertly past keeper Steve Harper.

Newcastle thought they were back in the game with 17 minutes remaining when Michael Owen's deflected cutback appeared to have crossed the line before Ashley Cole hacked it clear.

Shearer said: "I thought it was in from where I was standing - I would say that, wouldn't I? I'm a manager now.

"I have seen it on TV and it looks in. It's a mistake from the linesman.

"What it might have done was give us a rousing last five or 10 minutes, but it was certainly not his fault that we lost that game today."

However, the visitors finished with a flurry and might have extended their lead further had it not been for Harper's stubborn refusal to be beaten again.

Newcastle face a seemingly pivotal trip to Stoke next weekend, and while Shearer would happily turn back the clock to 3pm today, he is confident there is more to come from his side.

He said: "If we could rewind it back, I would like to start again. I am pleased it's over with.

"There are positives to take from it - we worked very hard, we can step up in quality, I know that already and I am sure we will step up in quality.

"We have got a very tough game next Saturday now that we are going to work on."

Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink was delighted with a win which put the pressure back on Manchester United and Liverpool, and saw enough in Newcastle's performance to suggest they can drag themselves out of trouble.

He said: "Alan Shearer knows, because of the great experience of his in the Premier League, that it is not always when you have eight games to go that you are very optimistic.

"But he is also very realistic to say that you cannot win (all) eight games and if you play Chelsea as Chelsea played today, then it's difficult to get the points there.

"But I am sure that in spite of the defeat today, this team will recover, which they showed in parts of the second half.

"Normally when you are 2-0 down and you are in the bottom three of the league, morale is going down.

"But it was not to see in Newcastle's game and that is a good foundation for gathering points in the future."