Shearer: UEFA Cup Has Priority Over Top-4 Finish

By Matthew Jones
April 22 2004

Magpies' skipper Alan Shearer is desperate for UEFA Cup success this season. It will be Newcastle's main target this season, ahead of a place in the top-four in the Premiership.

Ahead of the semi-final against Marseille tonight at SJP, Shearer said: "In an ideal world I'd like both, but if you pushed me I'd say silverware. We play for medals.

"We've been without silverware a long time, now we can change it.

"The UEFA Cup is a great opportunity for us to get into history books. Instead of reading about other players doing it, we've got a chance to read about ourselves in the future.

"The next three to four weeks for this club are huge and we hope to be going into the summer with silverware and finishing fourth in the Premiership.

"On the other hand, it could be a very disappointing summer. I hope not.

"After being knocked out of the Champions League, which was a huge disappointment, the players sat down and had a meeting.

"We said that the only way to get over that defeat was to win the UEFA Cup. That situation hasn't changed."

I am sure I speak for the majority of Magpies' fans when I say that I agree with Shearer's comments?  Some may disagree, but given the choice, I would rather see United with the UEFA Cup than qualify for the Champions League!

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