ALAN Shearer's European career might have ended with a whimper on Wednesday night, but the veteran striker remains confident of finishing his domestic days with a bang.

With the Newcastle skipper due to hang up his boots at the end of the season, this week's Intertoto Cup semi-final second leg was his final outing on the continental stage.

Shearer, whose 30 European goals make him United's all-time leading scorer by a considerable margin, was unable to prevent his swansong turning into a somewhat muted affair as the Magpies slipped to a 2-1 defeat to Deportivo La Coruna.

But, with the start of the new Premiership season now just eight days away, the 34-year-old is hopeful he will have rather more to celebrate come the final competitive appearance of his career next May.

"That was my last ever European game, but that's football," said Shearer, who can boast 49 continental appearances in a black and white shirt. "You've got to take the knocks but you've got to bounce back and get on with it as well.

"I hope that elimination from European football can have long-term benefits for the club.

"Ideally, it would have been different, but we won't now be playing Thursday-Sunday, Thursday-Sunday right throughout the season. That probably caught up with us at the end of the last campaign.

"We would have preferred that to have been the case again this season, but now we'll generally just be playing on Saturdays and hopefully that will enable us to climb up the league table again."

Shearer did not feature at all when Newcastle last entered the Intertoto Cup in 2001, but the former England international still remembers the positive effect the competition had on the start of the following season.

Sir Bobby Robson's side lost just one of their first six league games despite making six Intertoto appearances before the end of August and Shearer is hoping his current team-mates generate a similar momentum later this month.

"We'll now be trying to repeat the feats of a few years ago when we finished fourth in the Premiership after losing the Intertoto Cup final against Troyes. And, if we don't do that, I can assure you it certainly won't be for the lack of trying.

"Our aim has got to be to move up the league and get ourselves into the top six.

"That's what we've got to try to do. From my point of view, our goal for the forthcoming season has got to be to try to get into Europe next year."

That process begins at Arsenal next Sunday, with Newcastle having been handed one of the toughest starts imaginable as they turn their attentions back to the Premiership.

The Magpies have only won once at Highbury in their last 11 visits but, after showing fleeting glimpses of form during their pre-season campaign, Shearer maintains they are ready to hit the ground running next weekend.

"There's no point feeling sorry for ourselves because, to bounce back, you've got to quickly fix your sights on the next game and rectify it," he said.

"There is no magic formula. I believe that with hard work and determination, you will get there.

"Obviously it was disappointing to go out (on Wednesday), but I think there were a lot of positives to take from our performance, especially in the second half.

"As all four games have gone by, I think we've gradually got better and that will stand us in good stead when our Premiership campaign gets underway at Arsenal."

By that stage, Souness hopes to have four new players on board and the first of those signings could be completed in the next 24 hours.

Inter Milan full-back Fernando Coco spent yesterday on Tyneside discussing a possible season-long loan deal with the Magpies.

Coco, who has also starred for Barcelona and AC Milan, has been deemed surplus to requirements at the San Siro and had previously been linked with both Bolton and Everton.

The 28-year-old, who is a former team-mate of Magpies midfielder Emre, is understood to be keen on a move to the North-East provided Newcastle can match his current wages of around £60,000-a-week.

His arrival would place a huge question mark over the future of injury-prone left-back Celestine Babayaro, with the former Chelsea defender struggling to be fit for the start of the season after picking up another thigh problem.

* Newcastle will face non-leaguers Yeading in a friendly at St James' Park on Saturday.

The Magpies first crossed swords with the Londoners in last season's FA Cup third round, with goals from Lee Bowyer and Shola Ameobi earning a 2-0 success.

Kick-off is at 3pm and tickets are priced £5 for adults and £2 for concessions.

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