Shearer turns down Newcastle offer: report

Newcastle icon Alan Shearer has turned down an offer from the club to join the coaching staff of Joe Kinnear, according to reports Saturday.

Kinnear, who has recently been handed a contract till the end of the season, said last week the door was “always open” for Shearer, the former skipper, to make a return.

However the 61-year-old manager said he may now have to bring in new faces after Shearer turned down the offer to join the club's coaching staff.

“(Shearer) said it was a very kind offer but wasn't ready for it yet, and I said,'That's fine',” Kinnear said.

“There's a possibility I might bring someone else in on the coaching front now.”

Shearer, who scored 206 goals in 404 appearances for the north-east club, has been continually linked with a return to the club and admitted in September he would like to be manager.

Kinnear arrived at St James' Park as interim boss in September following Kevin Keegan's exit. He was told this week by owner Mike Ashley he will remain manager until the end of the season.

Newcastle play Middlesbrough in a northeast derby clash at Boro's Riverside ground on Saturday.