MICHAEL Owen is hoping to move above Alan Shearer in the record books at St James' Park tomorrow and, with the Newcastle legend due to retire this summer, the Real Madrid striker has refused to rule out also replacing him in a black and white shirt.

Owen will draw level with Shearer as England's fourth-highest goalscorer of all time if he scores against World Cup whipping boys Azerbaijan and, at the age of 25, there is every chance of him eventually grabbing the 21 more he would need to beat Bobby Charlton's all-time best.

Saturday's strike against Northern Ireland silenced the critics who were beginning to question his international credentials but, on the domestic stage, doubts about his future continue to be voiced.

Last summer's move to Madrid has not gone as planned, with Owen's involvement having largely been restricted to brief appearances from the bench.

The striker remains committed to Spain but, after voicing his disappointment at his lack of action, a host of clubs are readying themselves to compete for his services this summer.

Newcastle are one of them, with Magpies manager Graeme Souness already having spoken of his admiration for a player who once scored a memorable hat-trick for Liverpool at St James' Park.

Owen has attempted to quell the speculation over his future as he prepares for a game that should pose few problems to England's attempts to qualify for next summer's World Cup.

But, after having been put through his paces at Newcastle's training ground yesterday, he pointedly failed to dismiss the notion of a permanent move to the North-East.

"I have been asked the question many times before," said Owen, who will partner Wayne Rooney as England look to maintain their position at the head of Group Six. "In Madrid, people come over just to ask me that.

"I was asked about it when the speculation first came out. I respected Graeme Souness as a player - he was a fantastic player - and he is doing very well as manager of Newcastle.

"Newcastle is a fantastic club but, as I have said many times before, I'm happy in Madrid.

"If you're not playing every week, people will always put two and two together and start linking players with other clubs. But, I repeat, I am happy at Real Madrid."

As well as drawing him level with Shearer, Nat Lofthouse and Tom Finney on the all-time list, a goal tomorrow would see Owen equal Gary Lineker's record of 22 goals in competitive international games.

The striker insists that he pays little attention to individual records but, with Charlton's tally starting to look in reach, he has admitted that he is playing for a side who should create the chances needed to bring him further success.

"I wasn't aware of the record for competitive games," said Owen. "I know I would go fourth on the list because I checked that in the programme on Saturday and people have been reminding me.

"I never thought we would be talking about the (all-time) record so soon - I'm only just over halfway.

"I have always thought that if I stay fit and in form, I will manage to score a good few goals for England. But I'm still in the twenties and the record is 49.

"Until I get to 40-odd - if I'm ever fortunate enough to reach that number - I won't ever really be looking at it with too much seriousness.

"But, if I'm ever going to break the record, I couldn't pick a better group of players to be playing amongst.

"You look around and, from back to front, we have players who can create goals. I'm in a good team that will create chances regularly."

Those chances should be in plentiful supply tomorrow, with England taking on an Azerbaijan side who were thrashed 8-0 by Poland at the weekend.

The Azeri have failed to win any of their five qualifying games so far but, after managing just a one-goal win in last year's visit to Baku, Sven-Goran Eriksson's side will be taking nothing for granted on home soil.

England could have had eight themselves on Saturday but, despite this week's double-header partially disproving the mantra of there being 'no easy games in international football', Owen is warning the Tyneside fans not to expect a cricket score.

"We would have preferred Poland not to have beaten them 8-0," he admitted. "I wouldn't say it will put pressure on us, but everyone's expectations will be higher now as a result of that.

"If we can score a few goals that's all well and good - it breeds confidence - but the main focus is that a win is important and a good performance is the icing on the cake.

"Winning the game has got to be the most important thing because it is more difficult now. When I was growing up, you would see teams coming to England - the likes of San Marino - and losing 6-0, 7-0 and 8-0.

"There are very few teams in the world of football these days who you face expecting to rack up a big score like that. But, if the opportunity is there, we have the ruthless streak you need."

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