ALAN Shearer has revealed the embarrassment of being paraded around the city of Newcastle as a Wembley loser is spurring him on in his bid to finally lift the FA Cup.

The Newcastle captain is keen to bury the memory of one of the lowest points in a long and distinguished career, with Cup Final defeats against the Gunners in 1998 and again against Manchester United the following year, still firmly etched in his memory.

Newcastle go into quarter-final battle against Arsenal tonight keen to cure any hangover from last weekend's league defeat against the Gunners.

And the former England skipper is just as keen to help the club, and the fans, erase that Wembley heartache once and for all, admitting the only time he wants to parade around the city would be with the trophy firmly clasped in his hands.

"When you come back from an FA Cup Final, you've lost it, and you have to go on a parade of the city and see the thousands of people who turn out to see a losing side - for me that was embarrassing," said Shearer.

"I asked not to do it!

"I don't take any joy or pleasure in parading a losing side around Newcastle.

"But it was frightening to see the thousands who turned out and say 'well done for winning nothing'.

"We all felt so low - none of us wanted to do it."

Shearer's desire to lift that most famous of trophies lies in his upbringing as a die-hard Newcastle fan - the Magpies' supporters have a long affinity with the Cup which their team has lifted on six occasions.

"It would give the Geordie public more pleasure to lift the FA Cup than the Premier League - I think I'm right when I say that," said Shearer.

"That's how much the FA Cup means to the people up here.

"You have to live up here and understand the people to appreciate that - it really does mean that much to them."

Shearer is himself something of an FA Cup goalscoring specialist, with 18 goals in 24 games, and he would dearly love to add to that record tonight.

"Everyone says a little boy's dream is to get to an FA Cup final - they all seem to miss out winning it," he said.

"I've been to an FA Cup final and it's the worse thing ever when you go there and you get beat - I want to get there and I want to win it."

Standing in Shearer's and Newcastle's route to the semi-final are Arsenal who last weekend showed in their 2-0 win at St James', they have the strength in depth to mount an assault this year for the treble of Premiership, Champions League and FA Cup winners.

"It's a mammoth task for us to beat them but I believe if we can then the winners will come from this tie, " said Shearer.

"It would be an absolute disaster for us to let this season peter away into nothing.

"We still have a hell of a lot to play for, including the quarter-final and a place in the Champions League.

"We have always said that we didn't think we had a squad as good as the top three and obviously over the last two or three weeks I think that has been proved.

"It shows how far we have to go to get in and stay in that top three.

"Good squads can't be built in the space of one summer or one season. It's taken Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool years to do it.

"We're certainly on the right track."

After two defeats in the past eight days, Shearer is keen to get the Magpies' bandwagon rolling again.

And the Newcastle centre-forward believes the players owe themselves, and the fans, a big performance after Wednesday's 3-0 reverse at Anfield.

"The performance wasn't too disappointing (against Arsenal) especially in the first half-hour. I think 2-0 flattered them at half-time but what a great job they did second-half.

"For five or ten minutes (against Liverpool) we did OK but the belief drained away.

"Sometimes, at the end of a game you have to come in and say the better team won. On Wednesday that was the case - but it did hurt to say that.

"We owe a big performance. If we were to get through, hopefully by the semi-final we'd have a lot of our injuries back playing - with a full squad we can beat anyone."

l Luton boss Joe Kinnear has issued a ''come and get him'' plea to Newcastle for £2m-rated left-back Matt Taylor.

The 20-year-old Hatters star - also a target for Spurs - has rejected an improved deal to stay at Kenilworth Road for three more years and Bobby Robson is believed to be waiting in the wings. Taylor has scored nine goals from full-back this season, but he does not qualify for a free transfer when his current contract expires this summer because of his age.