IF Newcastle skipper Alan Shearer has any say in the matter, French new boy Laurent Robert will soon be flat on his derriere, desperately trying to catch his breath.

The winger was the inspiration for United's derby demolition of troubled Middlesbrough, whose manager Steve McClaren is now stuck with the stigma of having led his new club to their worst-ever start to a League season.

Boro are rock bottom of the Premiership after four successive defeats.

And on his bottom is where Robert will be once Newcastle have got the best out of their £10m investment in the former Paris St. Germain star.

That's the view of Shearer who, in his first start for six months following career-saving knee surgery, profited more than anyone from Robert's virtuoso performance at the Riverside Stadium.

Shearer scored twice as the Magpies stormed back from a goal down to crush ten-man Boro, who had goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer sent off for denying the rampaging Robert a goalscoring opportunity.

The resultant penalty, converted by Shearer, brought United level before Jonathan Greening's abysmal spot-kick failure - keeper Shay Given felled Boro skipper Paul Ince - piled on the agony for the home side.

Robert then increased the pain as he set up second-half goals for Nikos Dabizas and Shearer, and in between opened his own account in a black and white shirt.

Now Shearer is urging his teammates to keep Robert on the ball - and work the 26-year-old wing wonder into the ground.

"What we've got to do is feed him the ball as much as we can,'' said Shearer. "We've got to have him breathing out of his backside and saying he doesn't want the ball anymore.

"We've got to make him sick of it, because with his ability he'll terrify defenders. The more we can give him the ball, the more chances we're going to create.

"I'm really looking forward to playing with him on a regular basis because with his crosses from the left, and Nolberto Solano on the right, we should create chances.

"It all bodes well. With no disrespect to anyone else, I think we've been a bit predictable until now. When you take Nobby out of the side, we've found it hard.

"But now we have options. I've never hidden the fact that I love playing with wingers. For the first time in four years since David Ginola left, we now have two good wingers.

"They're both quick and can go past people or just whip the ball in which makes it hard for defenders because they don't know what they're going to do.

"Laurent won the penalty, set up Nikos and me, and got one himself, so he's been in the thick of things.

"If he keeps doing that, he'll get on with the fans. He's a good lad who mixes well with people.''

Shearer, however, maintained that fortune favoured the Magpies on their happy Teesside hunting ground. You have to go back to 1977 to recall the last time Newcastle lost a top-flight match at Middlesbrough.

And they are now unbeaten in their six Premiership visits to the Riverside, where they have won four times.

Whereas Schwarzer was shown a red card, which rules him out of the game at Chelsea a week on Saturday, opposite number Given escaped with a booking.

But referee Graham Poll looked spot-on in his assessment, with Ince going wide when he was brought down and two United defenders covering Given's goal.

Nevertheless, Shearer insisted: "We've had a touch of fortune. On another day the referee might have sent Shay off.

"But I think the referee got it right because there were two defenders on the line. I thought Schwarzer's challenge was a sending-off, but I understand Boro's frustrations.

"I feel sympathy for them, but they've got to give the manager time and I hope they do. It's too early to judge and everyone has to stick with him. He's had no luck whatsoever here and I'm sure his luck will change.''

Mr Poll later confirmed: "The sending-off incident was a goalscoring opportunity which was denied by the keeper. That is an automatic red card.

"The second penalty was for a reckless challenge by the keeper, but there were two defenders on the line and Paul Ince was moving away from the goal. It was not a goalscoring opportunity and they were two different situations.''

The referee explained his decisions to an irate McClaren when he called the Boro boss into his dressing room during the half-time interval.

But, by then, the short-handed home side had lost the momentum which had seen them dominate the first half-hour until Schwarzer's dismissal.

It all started so well for Boro, with Colin Cooper glancing home Ince's third-minute free-kick with the aid of a deflection.

Shearer patiently waited three minutes after Schwarzer walked before placing the penalty just out of the reach of substitute keeper Mark Crossley.

But Greening should have restored Boro's lead four minutes before the break when he feebly rolled his own spot-kick straight at Given.

Robert made them pay in the 59th minute, swinging the ball into the middle where Shearer missed out and defender Dabizas cashed in to turn home the centre. Three minutes later, Steve Vickers' miskick let in Robert, who rounded Crossley before finishing from a tight angle.

And 13 minutes from time, Robert delivered the perfect ball into the path of Shearer, who hammered a rising drive into the far top corner.

Newcastle boss Bobby Robson reckons it will take Shearer a month to regain full fitness. Ominously, his captain agrees. "I'm not as sharp as I will be in a month's time,'' said Shearer.

"Rob Lee was screaming at me for not getting on the end of Laurent's cross when Nikos scored. I said: 'Give me another three or four weeks and I might get there'!''

Premiership defenders be warned

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