AFTER another week at St James' Park when off-the-field problems have overshadowed football matters, Nigel Pearson has leapt to the defence of Michael Owen by insisting the striker is 'absolutely driven' to play for Newcastle United.

Chairman Freddy Shepherd will hold urgent talks with the England striker next week, in an attempt to diffuse a situation which is threatening to end with the player's two-year stay at Newcastle coming to an end this summer.

Shepherd, who hardly helped matters when he was caught out in a mobile hoax when he joked he would take Owen back to Liverpool himself for £9m, has become frustrated by reports suggesting the £16m man wants out.

But Pearson, in charge of Newcastle following the resignation of Glenn Roeder last weekend, feels Owen has shown sufficient in training this week to suggest he still has the club at heart.

"Yes, sure. Absolutely," said Pearson, after being asked whether the club's record buy was still driven to play for Newcastle. "I have not asked him about it because he's single-minded. But I have no question that he is very focused on what he is doing.

"I don't think there's any question - he's a driven young man. He has had a difficult year. I know he's glad to be playing football again. Outside of that, I don't think it's appropriate for me to comment further."

Owen has made just 12 senior starts for the Magpies, who have committed more than £2m on treating the the 27-year-old after he ruptured his cruciate knee ligaments at last summer's World Cup.

Although he has made recent comments stating the guilt he has felt at failing to repay the large financial outlay the club have made on him, well placed sources indicate the striker would listen to offers from clubs playing in the Champions League.

Liverpool, European Cup winners in 2005 after Owen left, would be his preferred destination, while Manchester United could be tempted by a £9m price-tag when Sir Alex Ferguson is being armed with over £40m in the transfer market.

To lose Owen would infuriate Shepherd and the Newcastle fans, who all feel he owes Tyneside something after injury prevented him from failing to live up to his record-breaking price-tag.

He is destined to figure against Watford tomorrow, when he will make his third appearance of the season.

And such has been his injury record, if he does remain at St James', he could have played as many times for England as he has for Newcastle this year ahead of the start of the new campaign.

Owen has been pencilled in to play for Steve McClaren's B team in a friendly with Albania on May 25 and if he emerges unscathed he is likely to play his part in June's fixtures with Brazil and Estonia.

Roeder, given he had been without the striker for such a long spell, was massively opposed to the player's involvement. Pearson, though, admits it could actually help Owen.

"Having worked with him on the training field for a number of weeks now, and seen him play very well in the last couple of games, it's important he finishes the season strongly," he said. "The B international will help his progression and ultimately I think we will gain from it."

The task of stepping into the breach is always difficult but for Pearson, appointed by Roeder after Kevin Bond's departure, it has been made even harder by the club's determination to have the new manager appointed next week.

Bolton's Sam Allardyce remains the leading candidate for the role, with Shepherd hoping to secure his services by the middle of next week.

Should Allardyce step in Pearson faces an uncertain future, knowing the former Bolton man is likely to draft in his own backroom staff, with Carlisle's Neil McDonald and Hull's Phil Brown two names being mentioned.

Pearson, though, remains unfazed. "There's always going to be speculation. That's out of our control and the most important thing is that we concentrate on what we can effect - the game at Watford," said the former Middlesbrough captain.

"Outside of that, there's no point me sitting here and talking about the speculation. Until something happens, there's no mileage in that.

"There will be time to reflect when the season is over. There's a possibility there will be some movement next week. But that is only a possibility. I'm not sure of any time-frame. We have to make sure things run as smoothly as possible in this transitional period and that is never an easy task."

In September Pearson had to take on a similar position when he was asked to fill in temporarily when Bryan Robson was axed at West Brom.

This week has been another unwanted experience. "It's an unfortunate circumstance," said Pearson, who will be on the Under-21s coaching staff for the European Championships this summer. "I'm a professional person and will do the job to the best of my abilities. But I would rather it was not this way. I just have to deal with it.

"We have a fixture to fulfil and people will expect us to put on a good performance, like every week. That's important. The players and staff alike have to be professional and do the job to the best of our ability. That's how it will be."