THE prospect of Alan Shearer being reinstated as Newcastle United boss will become increasingly unlikely once Chris Hughton is named as permanent manager this week.

While Shearer yesterday claimed he would love to take charge – and would also consider any management job – Hughton confirmed that when he accepts the contract offer from the Newcastle board it will equal any achievement in his career.

The former Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham defender has been in a caretaker role at St James’ Park on three separate occasions.

But by steering the Magpies back to the top of the Championship courtesy of a late strike from Kevin Nolan on Saturday and overseeing a strong start to the current campaign, Hughton has earned himself the job on a permanent basis.

During the 2-1 victory over Doncaster Rovers, Newcastle supporters continued to call for Shearer to be appointed manager.

But the chances of him returning in the foreseeable future have all but ended.

Hughton’s caretaker contract will be upgraded to the role of full time manager and will run until June 2011.

Hughton accepts that he will be under even greater scrutiny once he drops the caretaker prefix from his title but noted that he feels a great affinity for the club and is proud to finally be placed in charge of team affairs on a full-time footing.

He said: “There is an offer there, I want to be manager of this football club and I and expect it to be done in days.

“I’m quite sure it will be done. It will put extra pressure on me.

“The way people perceive a temporary manager and a permanent manager is different.”

Asked if it would change his relationship with his players, he responded by saying: “Not really."

“The way it’s perceived outside the changing room changes and it’s something I will respond to.

“I am massively proud. I spent a long time at Spurs, which is a great club and this is a great football club.

“This club gets under your skin massively. I’ve had great responses from everybody from day one, even in difficult periods.

“I know it possibly changes when you become full-time manager and there will be a little bit more pressure but it will be an incredibly proud moment for me – as proud as any other moment in my career.”

Shearer admitted: ‘‘I would still like to be the manager of Newcastle again one day. If the situation came around and everything was right and in place then without a doubt I would love to give it another go. But that’s not up to me.

‘‘It’s not just a job at Newcastle, though, because if the right post came along somewhere else I would definitely look at it.

‘‘I’m not connected to any bids. Nbody has said to me, ‘If I get in and buy the football club I want you to be the manager’.’’ Hughton will review video evidence before deciding whether to lodge an appeal against Zurab Khizanishvili’s sending off on Saturday. The centre-half on loan from Blackburn became involved in a fracas between Nicky Butt and Doncaster striker Billy Sharp.

Both players earned a yellow card for the exchange but Khizanishvili was shown red for violent conduct after he appeared to grab Sharp around the neck.

■ Leicester manager Nigel Pearson believes his side have coped well with the steep learning curve they have experienced following their promotion to the Coca- Cola Championship.

The Foxes are 10th in the table but would climb into the top six with victory over Reading at the Madejski Stadium tonight.

Leicester can expect a tough battle in Berkshire with the hosts having dropped into the relegation zone.

The Foxes have lost just once on their travels this season, at Newcastle, while their other five away games have produced four draws.

Pearson said: ‘‘We’ve been able to get results when things have been tough.

‘‘The last few games have illustrated how tough a league this is. We have not always been at our best but we’ve still been able to get results.”