Newcastle United confirmed yesterday that Joe Kinnear had signed a contract that will see him manage the club until the end of the season and the new boss admitted he had offered Shearer a role on his coaching staff which the former striker had declined.

Speaking to The Guardian, he said: “I said he’d be welcome to come in any time, to give the place a lift and work with our strikers. He said it was a very kind offer but that he wasn’t ready for it yet, and I said ‘that’s fine’. There’s a possibility I might bring someone else in on the coaching front now.”

Despite the rejection, Kinnear was quick to praise Shearer and admitted speculation surrounding the Newcastle legend was unlikely to disappear. Kinnear explained: “It was very honourable of Alan. Speculation linking him with the job is never going to go away and we’re both aware of that. I told him he’s more than welcome here and there’s not a problem, there’s no aggravation between us.”

The new Magpies boss also went on to insist that after being confirmed as the man in charge for the rest of the season he had full control over transfers ahead of the January transfer window.

“I have asked for reassurances and that will not happen for me,” revealed the former Wimbledon man, “every signing who comes in here in the new year will be a Joe Kinnear signing, absolutely, 100 per cent. I have cleared that at boardroom level and I feel it’s much easier and healthier when everyone knows what their job details are. I put that to the board and they were happy with it.”

Of course wrangles over transfers was one of the main factors in the departure of his predecessor Kevin Keegan and Kinnear admitted he did not want a repeat of that situation. He said: “If I’m going to be here until the end of the season. I have to be in total control and all football matters will be down to me.”

Newcastle take on neighbours Middlesbrough today hoping for a win to lift them out of the relegation zone and with their new boss aiming for a long stay in the hot seat.

“I want the job for keeps but obviously I have to be successful,” he admitted before concluding, “We have a big challenge ahead of us for the rest of the season but together I’m confident we will make good progress.”

He was in the crowd last night to watch his old club draw with Manchester City despite playing with 10 men.

After being hailed this week as the man to save the club by ex-Toon boss Sir Bobby Robson, Shearer left the door open for an approach to replace caretaker boss Joe Kinnear.

Shearer said: “Management interests me. But I can’t say I would be delighted to come here because that would be wrong. I wouldn’t rule anything out. Five days is a long time at this club.”

Ex-Toon boss Sir Bobby Robson insisted this week that Shearer is the one man capable of saving the up-for-sale crisis club.

Shearer has been careful not to publicly declare he wants to take charge of his hometown club, insisting instead he is happy to continue with his work as a television pundit.

It is understood that the former England captain is still hurting at being rejected out of hand for the job by former chairman Chris Mort following the sacking of Sam Allardyce in January.

But it now looks increasingly likely that Newcastle’s all-time record-goalscorer would accept the job if he is asked to take over from caretaker boss Joe Kinnear, as many Toon fans are hoping.

Shearer said: “Everyone knows I have done part of my coaching badges.

“I have not done the Pro Licence yet which is mandatory, but I will do it at some stage.

“I have said it before and I will say it again, management interests me. But I cannot say I would be delighted to come here because that would be wrong of me.

“I wouldn’t rule anything out. I am loving what I am doing at the moment.

“I can’t say where it might happen and I can’t say it would be here. Five days is a long time at this football club.

“I have huge respect for Joe Kinnear and good luck to him. No one would have turned that job down in his position.”

Shearer remains a popular choice to step into the St James’s Park dugout following Kevin Keegan’s resignation last month.

Hated owner Mike Ashley is open to offers for the club.

But Shearer has warned Newcastle face losing the likes of captain Michael Owen if Ashley continues to keep the club in limbo.

The England striker is in the final year of his contract and Shearer said: “The longer the club is standing still and no one knows what the future holds, the harder it will be to attract players.

“You can’t expect a player to sign a three or four-year contract while everything is so uncertain.

“It is the same with the players who have contracts running out.

“It is so unstable at the present moment you can’t blame them for looking elsewhere if their contracts are running out.”

Asked about Kinnear’s amazing rant at the media, Scolari replied: “He is a coach? I don’t know him.

“When I arrived here I was afraid of the media but not now. Sometimes the media in other countries is difficult. But here, no.”

The Telegraph says although much of the attention has so far been focused on a group of Nigerian businessmen, advisers Seymour Pierce have been encouraged by the response they have had since being appointed to sell the club by the Sports Direct tycoon.

Seymour Pierce are expected to spend the rest of this week assessing the bidders before recommending one offer to Ashley, who is seeking around £350 million for the club.

Tottenham boss Juande Ramos admits he has sympathy for Newcastle United after their Carling Cup victory last night.

He said: “It’s certainly not a nice situation to be in and I hope all the issues which are around Newcastle will be resolved soon and the team and the fans can have peace of mind.

“Our situation was very similar to Newcastle’s. We have had a period without victories and the team was nervous.

“Things were not going very well, but this victory has given us some peace of mind.

“I believe we deserved to win tonight. In the first half, everything was equal and the two teams were playing at more or less the same level.

“But in the second half, we scored two goals and Michael Owen’s goal came at the very end, so yes, we deserved to win.”