Shearer: We Can Do Better!

By Kyle Braithwaite
November 28 2003

Alan Shearer says the Magpies could play alot better than they did last night, despite going through to the 3rd round of the UEFA CUP.

Alan Speaks Out!

Newcastle United skipper Alan Shearer said he was delighted to see the Magpies go through to the third-round of the UEFA Cup, after beating FC Barsel 1 – 0 last night. At the same time the former England international said the Newcastle could play a lot better. "We knew the first goal was going to be crucial, and that's how it turned out," he said. "We knew they needed to score three after that, but I thought we defended very well and got the clean sheet we set out for. "In the second half I think we took our foot off the pedal a bit bearing in mind the game we have tomorrow. "They had a couple of chances, but when they did get through our defence they couldn't get past Shay because he's a quality goalkeeper. "We had a scare when they had the appeal for the penalty. When I saw the ref go for his card I thought he was booking Shay and assumed it was a penalty because I was quite a distance from it. "It wasn't the best of performances from us, but at the end of the day we did the hard work in the away leg and we've been the better side over two legs. "We'll look forward to the draw in a couple of weeks, but the next round isn't until February so we can put the UEFA Cup to bed until then and concentrate on making progress up the league now."