Newly appointed Newcastle United manager Alan Shearer has told his former strike partner for both the Tyneside outfit and England, Michael Owen, that he can score the goals to fire the club to safety.
Shearer was officially officially took over on Thursday and wasted no time in setting his sights on dragging his beloved club out of the Premier League relegation zone.
He met the squad for the first time on Thursday morning at the club's Benton training ground and made of point of telling Owen exactly what plans he had for him.
Owen is Newcastle's top scorer this season with 10 goals, but injuries have restricted the 29-year to just seven appearances since the start of the year.
"I spoke to Michael and a few of the players to try to remind them of the standards and the qualities they possess but most importantly what they think of themselves," Shearer said.
"It is well known Michael has had his fair share of injuries but his goalscoring record is fabulous and I think a club in this position needs goals.
"We have a great goalscorer to get us that. He is fit and trained this morning very well for two hours so we hope he is fit for Saturday and if he is he will start."
He added: "I remember in Euro 96 when I hadn't scored for however many games. A month before the tournament Terry Venables said to me 'You'll be starting the tournament'.
"I always remember the belief and confidence that gave me. It was a great piece of man-management and that stuck out for me.
"All players are different but everyone loves to be told they are a good player and how well they are doing."
Shearer has played for the likes of Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, Sir Bobby Robson, Glenn Hoddle and Venables and plans to make the most of what they taught him.
The 38-year-old said: "You go through your playing career and you tend to pick up the good things from the good managers.
"I've had some very good and experienced ones which I have learned a lot off. Even in the two or three hours this morning I've tried to pass on one or two things to the players that I remembered when I was a player.
"I'll speak to Kevin, Kenny, Bobby, Terry, Glenn and then we will see after that.
"I think it is important I try to tap into all the experience I can - I'm going to need it.
"I am inexperienced in this job but I have to learn quickly because I haven't got the time."
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Shearer was officially officially took over on Thursday and wasted no time in setting his sights on dragging his beloved club out of the Premier League relegation zone.
He met the squad for the first time on Thursday morning at the club's Benton training ground and made of point of telling Owen exactly what plans he had for him.
Owen is Newcastle's top scorer this season with 10 goals, but injuries have restricted the 29-year to just seven appearances since the start of the year.
"I spoke to Michael and a few of the players to try to remind them of the standards and the qualities they possess but most importantly what they think of themselves," Shearer said.
"It is well known Michael has had his fair share of injuries but his goalscoring record is fabulous and I think a club in this position needs goals.
"We have a great goalscorer to get us that. He is fit and trained this morning very well for two hours so we hope he is fit for Saturday and if he is he will start."
He added: "I remember in Euro 96 when I hadn't scored for however many games. A month before the tournament Terry Venables said to me 'You'll be starting the tournament'.
"I always remember the belief and confidence that gave me. It was a great piece of man-management and that stuck out for me.
"All players are different but everyone loves to be told they are a good player and how well they are doing."
Shearer has played for the likes of Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, Sir Bobby Robson, Glenn Hoddle and Venables and plans to make the most of what they taught him.
The 38-year-old said: "You go through your playing career and you tend to pick up the good things from the good managers.
"I've had some very good and experienced ones which I have learned a lot off. Even in the two or three hours this morning I've tried to pass on one or two things to the players that I remembered when I was a player.
"I'll speak to Kevin, Kenny, Bobby, Terry, Glenn and then we will see after that.
"I think it is important I try to tap into all the experience I can - I'm going to need it.
"I am inexperienced in this job but I have to learn quickly because I haven't got the time."
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