Shearer ready to take ambassadorial role

hnewcastle legend likely to advise board and promote club hnew owners are urged to restore connection with fans

Alan Shearer is likely to accept an ambassadorial role at Newcastle United to help promote and advise the new owners of the club.

Shearer was swiftly contacted by Amanda Staveley, who is the public face of the new board, to be asked about whether he would be willing to be involved and the club’s record goalscorer is open to the idea.

The conversation between the two is understood to have been productive and Shearer has gone away to consider what he can offer to the new owners and his hometown club.

Although nothing has been confirmed, sources close to the former England and Newcastle captain say that he will accept a role once he has had a chance to look at how he can fit it into his other commitments.

Shearer is a prominent pundit for the BBC and a regular on Match of the Day. He is also a columnist for theathletic.co.uk and does not want to give up those roles.

However, the 51-year-old is a passionate supporter of the club and wants to be able to offer whatever help he can in order to get the new venture off to a positive start.

Shearer was a vehement critic of the club for most of the 14-year reign of previous owner Mike Ashley, even though he was employed as manager for a brief period under him. The attacks prompted the former regime to rename Shearer’s Bar – an honour bestowed on him when he retired as a player – to Nine Bar.

Whatever role he accepts it is likely to be a relatively informal one, advising the new board on its relationship with the city and the fans, while promoting the club and their brand on the global stage.

Shearer remains one of the bestknown names in English football, even though he retired almost two decades ago, having scored a record 260 Premier League goals, and 206 in total for Newcastle.

Writing for theathletic.co.uk, he urged the new owners to put the supporters at the heart of everything they did at St James’ Park. “It is a moment to take stock, to celebrate the passing of 14 dreadful years and to usher in something new. Something that has the potential to be big and transformative,” Shearer wrote.

“Do you know what I want? To feel like we’re all on the same page, to be rowing in the same direction. Give us our football club back.

“I’m genuinely not bothered by wealth, I just want us to feel a connection again, for the owners to try to improve us and for us to get better. I think I can speak for most Newcastle fans when I say that.”