Shearer: Aiming For Fourth

By Matthew Jones
May 12 2004

How would Alan Shearer feel if the club were to get 4th place in the Premiership this year? Shearer explains...

With games against Southampton and Liverpool left, the Magpies' know that they NEED to claim 6 more points to clinch that vital Champions League spot.

Shearer said:

"If we can get into fourth place it would make it a decent season for us. Not a great season, but a decent one. If we could go into the final game at Liverpool with a chance of getting into fourth place then we’d be happy.

"Three or four years ago finishing in fourth would have been classed as a success for us, but not now. On the other hand, finishing in sixth or seventh would be a disaster for us."

Newcastle know exactly what they have to do (pick up 6 pts from the final two games) in order to reach next year's money-earning competition after being knocked out of this season's in the qualifying rounds.

Shearer also promised that Newcastle are going all-out to achieve 4th spot and added:

"The situation is clear to us - we have to win the final two games at Southampton and Liverpool.

"There has been a lot of doom and gloom about the place since the game against Wolves on Sunday - which I can fully understand - and people are saying we have blown our chances.

"But I can promise you that is not the case in our dressing room, and we will be giving it everything we have got now."