Shearer defends under-fire chairman Shepherd

Shearer told The Sun: “Under his (Shepherd’s) chairmanship, millions have been ploughed into buying players. He has backed every manager he has had.

“Some of the signings have come off, some haven’t. But he has backed the managers to get it right. Now, had he not backed them with hard cash, what would people have said then? He passionately wants to get things right.

“I worked with Glenn last season and thought he was excellent. I think he is the man for this situation and I know he is working the players hard to get things right.

“But you cannot really judge him when the team is short of their three main strikers and cannot score.

“It’s just an impossible situation. He will be trying to find ways round it.”