GOALSCORING great Alan Shearer last night urged Newcastle's board to forget about his much-publicised bust-up with Ruud Gullit and consider appointing a foreigner as Graeme Souness' permanent successor.

With chairman Freddy Shepherd having drawn up a shortlist of potential candidates, the Magpies hierarchy will spend the next seven days making initial approaches to their leading targets.

While Irishman Martin O'Neill is believed to be at the top of Shepherd's wanted list, German Ottmar Hitzfeld and Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson are also understood to have featured in this week's discussions.

Newcastle's most recent experience of a foreign manager ended in disaster when Gullit walked out of St James' Park in August 1999.

The Dutchman's demise was hastened by a heated dispute with Shearer - Gullit left his post less than 24 hours after leaving the striker out of the derby defeat to Sunderland - and his year-long reign was riddled with consistent criticism of his repeated trips back to Amsterdam.

Shearer has come to characterise an old-fashioned Englishness thanks to his combative qualities and whole-hearted approach.

But, with the likes of Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger and Rafael Benitez having made their mark on the English game, Newcastle's record scorer insists it would be wrong to rule out a managerial candidate because of his nationality.

"Does it need to be a British manager? No, it needs to be the right man for the job," said Shearer, who will continue to assist caretaker boss Glenn Roeder ahead of tomorrow's trip to Aston Villa.

"They need to get it right. For whatever reason, there have been a lot of managers at Newcastle recently and the next one is a very important decision.

"I don't know what list, if any, they have. I'm sure they will be up there (at St James' Park) looking for the best candidate to take over.

"Who that is I just don't know. But it has to be the best man for the job regardless of any other consideration."

While plenty of supporters would disagree, Shearer maintains that "best man" is not Newcastle's current number nine.

Breaking Jackie Milburn's record has inevitably forced the 35-year-old to confront his own footballing mortality and begin to plan for a life away from the field of play.

That life will include golf, horse racing, media work and coaching lessons but not, at least in the short term, management.

While he has no plans to postpone his retirement for a second time, Shearer has promised to be back at St James' Park next season.

His presence, though, will be confined to a hospitality box as he gives Newcastle's new manager his wholehearted support as a fan.

"I don't have my future mapped out," said Shearer, after being presented with a pair of Umbro Speciali 201 embroidered boots to commemorate last weekend's record-breaking strike.

"I'm not so sure you can map anything out in football. I think you have to wait to see what happens and then make your decisions from there.

"What I do know is that I'm finishing playing in May and I will have time to spend with my family. I'll play some golf, enjoy a bit of my life, and do the media work I want to do. I'll also carry on doing my badges.

"I will be keeping my box at St James' Park and next season I'll be a fan again. That's the situation. I'll carry on supporting the club but there's no way I'll be the manager, that's for someone else."

A clearly emotional Shearer spoke of his joy at breaking Milburn's record on Saturday night.

The headache brought on by the subsequent celebrations is beginning to subside, but the pride at his achievement remains as strong and powerful as ever.

"I don't think it will properly sink in until I stop playing," he said.

"The response has been incredible - not only from people in the North East, but also from people all over the world.

"I'm very proud and very honoured. My career has been everything I wanted it to be and an awful lot more.

"People have to understand the situation I am in, where I am from, and what it meant to me to come back and play for Newcastle.

"A lad from Gosforth is now the record goalscorer at the football club and I never dreamed it would turn out that way."

After famously turning down the chance of joining Manchester United, Shearer has passed up a host of medals to ply his trade on Tyneside.

He maintains his decision to join Newcastle was the right one, but admits this season's events will leave him with one significant regret when he finally calls it a day.

"I would have loved to have played more games with Michael Owen," he said. "I'm fairly certain that, had that happened, we would be in a higher position in the league.

"It hasn't, though, and, unfortunately, football is full of ifs and buts. I know Michael's desperate to get back playing, not because there's a World Cup at the end of it, but because it's not a nice feeling to be injured.

"I've been there. He knows the club paid a lot of money for him and he just wants to go out there and score goals. His record for us when he's played is sensational. He wants to improve on that and play for Newcastle."

* Bookmakers in the Midlands were forced to suspend betting on their Newcastle manager market yesterday morning after taking a flurry of bets on Wolves boss Glenn Hoddle.

The former England manager, who started the day at 25-1, was trading at odds of 3-1 with North-East bookmakers Pagebet last night after a day of sustained support.

However, sources in Wolverhampton report no official contact between Newcastle and Hoddle and it would be a major surprise if the ex-Tottenham midfielder was a serious contender for the post.

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