ALAN Shearer has insisted that he will still retire at the end of the season, despite admitting that his latest injury problems will prevent him from becoming Newcastle's leading goalscorer of all time.

Shearer announced his decision to call it a day last summer but, when boss Graeme Souness replaced Sir Bobby Robson in September, he revealed he would be doing everything possible to make the United skipper change his mind.

Souness' pleadings appeared to be having an impact, with Shearer steadfastly refusing to discuss his impending retirement in the first half of the campaign.

Ten goals in 17 games proved he was still as sharp as ever, and also helped him close in on Jackie Milburn's club record 200-mark.

Shearer needs 17 more to erase Milburn's name from the record books but, after missing 12 games with a thigh injury, that looks a tall order with just five months of the season to go.

Playing for another season would solve the problem but, despite admitting that he had Milburn's mark in his sights last autumn, Shearer will still be hanging up his boots in May.

"I have never given it another thought," said the 34-year-old, who is expected to return to first-team action tomorrow. "I haven't changed my mind.

"I thought I might have had a little chance of getting to Jackie's record, but I think, realistically speaking, 12 games out has probably put the block on that.

"I didn't say it publicly, but I had that sneaky feeling that I may have been able to do it. I don't think it'll be achievable now, though."

While Shearer is unlikely to retire as Newcastle's record goalscorer, he could yet end the campaign as the first United skipper to lift a major trophy for 36 years.

An FA Cup fourth-round tie with Coventry hardly fires the imagination, but it does give the Magpies every chance of making the last 16 of a competition that holds a powerful emotional sway on Tyneside.

"I still believe we have the core of a team which is capable of winning some silverware," said Shearer. "I know the manager and the chairman are actively looking for new players and they will not give up easily.

"They're still not content with the two they've brought in - they want to bring in even more and that can only be beneficial to the club as a whole.

"I know exactly what the FA Cup means to Newcastle United fans and I share in that love of the competition. I'm proud of what I've achieved in my career, but it will only be complete if I bring some silverware to this club."

Shearer has endured a fraught two months that have seen him sidelined by separate calf and thigh injuries.

Both problems have now cleared up, but the Newcastle skipper has admitted that the twin problems combined to produce one of the most frustrating periods of his career.

"I've trained all week without any problem and it's just a case of stepping things up over the next couple of days," said Shearer. "I've had serious injuries in the past, but at least with them I always knew my comeback date.

"With muscle injuries, it's a nightmare. I thought I was fit to play against Birmingham City on New Year's Day after my thigh injury but then my calf went - I think my body must be trying to tell me something!"

With Shearer confirming his retirement plans, and Patrick Kluivert's future still shrouded in doubt, Newcastle have been hurriedly re-assessing their goalscoring options in recent weeks.

That search has now taken the club down an almost unbelievable route - back to Jon-Dahl Tomasson, one of the biggest flops in United's recent transfer history.

The Denmark international arrived on Tyneside with a burgeoning reputation in the summer of 1997, but left in a hurry a year later after scoring just four goals in 34 appearances.

He has since resurrected his career at Feyenoord and AC Mila and is currently the subject of a possible loan move to Marseille.

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd is understood to have held preliminary discussions with AC Milan and, with Tomasson out of contract in the summer.

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