Football Talk - Shearer cautious after crucial Newcastle win - 12/05/09
Newcastle boss Alan Shearer warned his side remain in a relegation battle, despite Monday's 3-1 win over Middlesbrough taking the Magpies out of the bottom three.
"The club needed it, the players needed it, we all needed it," said Shearer. "But there is still a long way to go. I don't want to sound negative but it's one win. We have got to get another two and make sure we are safe."
Newcastle are level on points with Hull but their goal difference is superior to the Tigers. Shearer's men play Fulham on Saturday and travel to fifth-placed Aston Villa on the final day of the season.
"We've won one and got two to go," added the interim manager. "We need at least another win but we've now got the belief and confidence back. We asked them to go out and get three points and they've done that. They were magnificent under difficult circumstances. They have now got to go and do that again on Saturday, enjoy that winning feeling and hopefully there's another one there on Saturday. But it will be just as tough because Fulham are flying themselves. There were some big, big performances from big men, they were brilliant," stated Shearer. "I told my players to enjoy that winning feeling and enjoy being out of the bottom three because it has been a long time coming. Hopefully we stay out of there - it's in our own hands now."
Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate admitted it was a painful evening for his side. "There's a lot of frustration and anguish in our dressing room, it's been a painful evening," admitted Southgate. "We looked dangerous when we attacked in that opening half-an-hour. Newcastle looked nervous at the back. We scored early and needed to keep that lead for longer. They are our local rivals and it's difficult to listen to them celebrating but even though we lost I'm very proud of the players. They are young players who played like men tonight. We've got two games left and we've got to try to win those. We've got to hang in there."
Middlesbrough entertain Aston Villa on Saturday before taking on West Ham at Upton Park on the last day of the season.
