THE glowing tributes to the achievements of one of England's greatest goalscorers started soon after the final whistle was blown at Ewood Park on Saturday.

Firstly his manger Sir Bobby Robson called it 'colossal', and his teammates joined in the praise after their skipper had bagged career club goal number 300.

But perhaps the highest praise came from Blackburn manager Graham Sounness who said: ''I'd like to say how wonderful it is that Alan has scored his 300th goal and where else but here?

''We should remember what he gave to this club. He's the greatest English centre-forward that I've ever seen.

''There is not a single bigger reason than him for Blackburn winning the Premiership. I knew he would score today, I thought we might have to score twice to win the game, but maybe not three.

''Nobody should score 300 goals at this level, it's ridiculous.''

Newcastle boss Bobby Robson added: ''It's a colossal achievement and you have to remember the time he has missed through three serious injuries. It's quite remarkable what he has achieved.

''It will take some catching, it's a wonderful record and he has a few more in his locker.''

Former teammate at both Blackburn and Newcastle, Kevin Gallacher said: "It's a fantastic achievement - 300 goals is something special.

"A lot of people may dream of scoring 100 goals in their career, but to score that many and still keep going is incredible.

"He's got everything - he scores with his head, both feet and games you think he's being marked out of he gets one chance and he scores.

"I may have scored a few myself but I've never really counted. Alan can probably tell you every one of his 300!"

Shearer himself was shifting his sights firmly towards Wednesday's crucial Champions League qualifier against Italian giants Juventus, where ideally he'll be notching numbers 302, 303 and 304.

And the Magpies' captain feels that although they find themselves staring elimination from Europe's premier competition, they had in no way disgraced themselves in their previous two European encounters.

Shearer said: "We've been very happy with our performances in the Champions League - not so much Kiev away but certainly Feyenoord and Juventus.

"We've been very very happy but obviously we've not got the results.

"We've got three games left and we're fighting for our lives to stay in the Champions League. If it's not going to be that then hopefully it will be the UEFA Cup.

"There's a lot of pride at stake and a lot to play for and we've got three games to do it.

"We've got nine points to play for and until it's impossible then we certainly won't give up.

"We've got character in the side - we showed that in coming back to 2-2 at Blackburn.

"If we can show that who knows - then our luck might just change."

Shearer also gave his backing to former international teammate David Seaman following his blunder against Macedonia last week that left many people calling for the Arsenal number one to be forcibly 'retired' from England duty.

Shearer himself has been criticised many times during his England career - despite bagging an impressive 30 goals in 63 England games

"In football you sometimes make mistakes and on Wednesday David made a mistake," said Shearer.

"I've made mistakes - I missed a penalty against Sunderland which cost us, so imagine how I felt after that.

"It happens unfortunately. He's (Seaman) big enough and brave enough to come back and he's done so in the past .

"But as I keep saying until someone comes and takes the jersey off him, he's still the number one.

"No one's actually done it yet

"Personally I've not enjoyed (the criticism) but it certainly gave me something to prove."