HE has played in the Champions League, World Cup finals, European Championships, FA Cup finals and won the Premier League on the final day of the season.

Alan Shearer, however, insists that no other occasion has carried as much importance as Newcastle United’s fixture tonight. A victory against Portsmouth will not even lift the Magpies out of the bottom three, so Shearer is not even thinking about anything other than a win.

It is a situation which bares similarities to an afternoon 17 years ago, when Newcastle overcame Portsmouth 1-0 in the penultimate game of the Division Two season.

They then won at Leicester on the final day to ensure they would not be relegated to the third tier of English football.

“I don’t know whether it’s the biggest game since that day but it will be the most important game these players have played for Newcastle without a doubt – and I suppose from my point of view as well without question.

I have asked the players to give me three wins, starting with Monday night,”

said the Newcastle boss.

Shearer was a young professional at Southampton in 1992 but still vaguely remembers the relief he felt when David Kelly, left, grabbed that winning goal over the Saints’ south coast rivals.

And with Newcastle sitting some four points shy of safety in 2009 with five matches remaining, the Newcastle boss wants to see one of his men etch himself into Tyneside folklore by scoring a winner against Portsmouth this time around.

“Someone has also just reminded me about breaking the goalscoring record against Portsmouth three years ago. I am now hoping Portsmouth will be when I get my first three points as a manager,”

said Shearer.

“The record is not important, but what is important is this Monday.

There is a chance for someone to go out, and I wouldn’t say be a hero, hopefully we will have 11,12,13 of those on Monday, but certainly a chance to make people sit up and say maybe Newcastle are going to fight, Newcastle are going to scrap for everything.”

If Newcastle are going to give themselves a chance, three points is a must tonight.

For that to happen they will have to perform better than they have in Shearer’s first three matches in charge.

Having started with just a point in his first two games against Chelsea and Stoke, the defeat at Tottenham last weekend fuelled concerns that championship football is on the cards.

“There was always that possibility,”

said Shearer, who may start Mark Viduka tonight. “When you look at the games we have played.

Not many gave us a chance, against Chelsea, not many come away from Stoke with anything but we did, and Spurs. People said we could maybe go there and get a point. But even if we had got a point, we would still need to win these next three home games. Nothing has changed from that point of view.”

After the visit of Portsmouth, Newcastle head to Liverpool next Sunday before a trip to Aston Villa followed by home matches with Middlesbrough and Fulham.

It is the fixtures at St James’ Park that most feel could keep Newcastle in the Premier League, something Shearer would agree with.

“I know we keep asking our fans for things and they might get fed up of us asking but for three games I am asking them to really turn it on and make it a really good atmosphere,”

said the former England captain.

“I understand they are as nervous as everyone else but I want it to be great on Monday from the first minute.

“I want people with a buzz, I don’t want any morbid faces around the training ground.

And to be fair there hasn’t been. Everything has been upbeat, tempo has been good and now we have to transfer that. I am asking the fans to do exactly the same.

“It has been very difficult to ask them to smile when they have been beaten. Yeah it’s been hard but there is no time for people to feel sorry for themselves. We know the situation, we know the stakes and now we have to produce.

“We know that one win and hopefully things will start to turn for us. Performances will improve, standard of play will improve but it’s that first win which we are looking for. I believe we can get that and then we will get more.”