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Shearer to keep his troops battling
Newcastle United, 10:19, April 28, 2009 ,
Alan Shearer has promised fans Newcastle will scrap for survival until the end of the season after Monday's 0-0 draw with Portsmouth.
The Toon chief was looking for his side to secure maximum points in their final three home games of the campaign - against Pompey, Middlesbrough and Fulham - in order to stay in the Premier League. However the players failed the first test against Paul Hart's Pompey and remain three points from safety with just four games remaining - including away days at high-flying Liverpool and Aston Villa.
Despite the odds stacking up against Newcastle, Shearer is aiming to have his side continue fighting and be in with a chance of staying up come the final game of the season at Villa Park.
He said: "I'm disappointed we haven't taken three points - for 65 minutes we forced the game without any success in front of goal.
"I can't fault the effort or commitment - I asked for them to start from the first minute and they did that.
"We created enough chances to win the game, that was pleasing. But it was ironic, the three players I wanted up there all got one chance but they didn't score from them.
"I don't know whether that's going to be a good point or a bad point. What I can guarantee is that there will be a lot of twists and turns before the end - we have to stick in there and keep fighting, and we will. Four games in football is a hell of a long time.
"We're relying on other people. Results went for us, apart from Blackburn. It's going to be a tense end of season but we've got to make sure we're still in there fighting by the last game of the season."