MIKE Ashley will offer Alan Shearer a four-year contract as Newcastle manager when the pair meet for their end-of-season debrief later today.

But Shearer will seek a number of assurances before he agrees to take up his first permanent managerial post, with the retention of a small number of senior players a prerequisite if he is to succeed Joe Kinnear.

Kinnear, who underwent heart surgery earlier this year, is expected to officially leave the Magpies later this summer, although the exact terms of his departure are still to be finalised.

With Newcastle’s annual revenue likely to drop by around £50m following Sunday’s relegation to the Championship, Shearer accepts there will have to be a mass exodus of players in order to reduce the club’s wage bill to a manageable level.

Michael Owen, Mark Viduka, Claudio Cacapa and Peter Lovenkrands will leave when their contracts expire next month, and further departures are inevitable as the Magpies attempt to reduce an annual wage bill that currently tops the £70m mark.

However, Shearer intends to hold on to Steve Harper, Nicky Butt and Steven Taylor this summer as he plans for life outside the Premier League.

Harper and Butt’s experience will be vital as Newcastle attempt to win promotion at the first attempt, while Taylor has been earmarked as the club’s next captain following the departure of the out-ofcontract Michael Owen.

Shearer will also demand complete control over Newcastle’s recruitment procedures, a move that would finally draw a line under the controversial director of football model that led to Kevin Keegan’s departure last August.

While the former England international will work closely with Ashley as he oversees the hiring and firing of players, he is not willing to countenance a Dennis Wise-type figure pursuing his own targets with little or no input from the manager.

Shearer will work with assistant manager Iain Dowie to draw up a list of transfer targets, and while money will inevitably be tight this summer, the pair are hoping a string of player sales will create a £10m fighting fund for purchases and new wage arrangements.

Shearer is also likely to demand an overhaul of the Magpies’ backroom staff, with Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood likely to depart and former coach John Carver expected to return to the ranks.

Shearer held a 45-minute meeting with Newcastle’s current playing squad yesterday, despite his temporary spell in charge officially ending on Sunday evening. He already appears to have assumed responsibility for Newcastle’s pre-season planning.

Each player was handed a detailed training schedule and told to report for the start of pre-season training on Wednesday, July 1.

Some might have departed before then, of course, and having been disappointed with the attitude of some of his players in the final weeks of the season, Shearer is keen to see the back of a number of high earners.

He hopes to retain a small nucleus of committed characters, however, and views Steven Taylor as a key part of next season’s promotion push.

Taylor was one of the last players to leave the Villa Park pitch on Sunday evening, and while he stopped short of naming names, the centrehalf implied that some of his team-mates did not share his passion for the Magpies.

“There have to be big changes after this,” said Taylor.

“People need to realise it is an honour to play for Newcastle United Football Club – it doesn’t matter who you are or what club you have been at.

“You have to give it 100 per cent, and the past ten months haven’t been good enough. It is starting to sink in we are a Championship team, and we will have to deal with that.”

Taylor also urged Newcastle supporters not to desert their team in its hour of need.

“Stick with us next season,”

he said. “We have to perform and go through that league and win it.

“We’ll take so much frustration out on it, but we’ll have to show teams we mean business. We want to be back.

We are a Premier League team, so we need to be back in the Premier League as quick as possible.”

Taylor is clearly desperate to remain at St James’ Park, and Damien Duff has also nailed his colours to the mast in the aftermath of Sunday’s defeat.

Duff’s own goal ultimately condemned Newcastle to the Championship, but the Irishman wants to help restore the club to what he believes is its rightful position.

Whether he is given the opportunity to do that remains to be seen, however, as his wages, which are estimated at around £2.5m-a-year, may prove unsustainable outside the Premier League.