Black Cats now in Big Al's sights

Just as Shearer scored in a four-goal romp at the Stadium of Light in his last game with No 9 on his back, Sunderland could have to go the journey again if United are to somehow cling to Premier League life by their fingertips.

Only three points separate Wear and Tyne, with Sunderland going backwards from relative safety.

A fairytale beginning turned into a nightmare end for Shearer as Chelsea dampened the early United fire and optimism of a sell-out crowd to take control second-half and cruise to victory.

About par for the course, that, when it comes to Geordie Messiahs!

Sir Bobby Robson also began life in black- and-white with defeat at the hands of Chelsea, and the second coming of Kevin Keegan saw him go eight Premier League matches without a solitary victory.

Shearer hasn't got that sort of time, of course. Eight matches with no win and United are down.

All will hinge on the final three games at St James's Park against Portsmouth, Boro and Fulham when maximum points are a must - though some return is required away to Stoke and Spurs next up or Newcastle could find themselves stranded.

How we could do with a Shearer, bristling with muscle and determination, on Easter parade in a No 9 shirt to sort out Stoke's rearguard this Saturday.

Hands thrust deep into trouser pockets, a rookie manager prowled his technical area never once sitting down and in constant animated conversation with Iain Dowie.

Oblivious to the chants of his 50,000 disciples demanding acknowledgement Shearer instead pointed and shouted the way forward.

Except this wasn't the Entertainers or Robson's raiders with whom he shared many a victory.

Life at the bottom is hard and unrelenting with little encouragement and plenty of frustration.

A manager cannot make legs run quicker and add inches to strikers.

What we got against the blues of Chelsea was predictable - fire and effort stoked up by the occasion and then the self-destruct button pushed to completely flatten the party.

At 0-0 the dream lived on, but whatever Shearer can drum up in terms of commitment, courage and organisation will be fatally undermined if senior players continue to make schoolboy errors.

First sub Damien Duff, facing upfield with the ball at his feet, elected to turn towards his own goal to play the ball.

Fatal, because next in line was Fabricio Coloccini, as reliable as confetti in a high wind.

With Nicolas Anelka closing him down Coloccini lost all his bearings, Anelka chipped on to the bar, and Frank Lampard gleefully followed up to head into an empty net. The game was effectively over.

Ten minutes later it literally was following the big boot of Petr Cech. Lampard played a lovely weighted pass at inside left for Florent Malouda who, as Steve Harper went to ground, slipped the ball past the keeper's left- hand side.

Coloccini may be an ever present, the only one I may add, but surely that record will be under the serverest of pressure when both Sebastien Bassong and Steven Taylor return to full fitness.

The Argentine is beginning to look uncannily like a Titus Bramble replica - one mistake a match.

United were wrongly denied a goal when Michael Owen's deflected shot was kicked out of the net by Ashley Cole, but we already felt that fate had decreed defeat for a Newcastle legend.

This and Liverpool away were the toughest two matches on Shearer's radar when he started out, so perhaps we ought not to have been too surprised, and therefore not too downhearted, though wins for Blackburn and Stoke obviously didn't help the cause.

If KK and Sir Bobby were winless upon introduction then Shearer is in good company.

Real opportunities still lie ahead when he will have a greater opportunity to dictate the course of a 90 minutes but, my, it's going to be nail biting time.

United don't create enough chances nor work the opposing keeper enough.

They lack legs in the centre of the field and height up front.

That cannot be changed, United having allowed the transfer window to close down with a fatally flawed squad at their disposal.

It's as much a mind game now as anything else.

What Shearer can coax or bully out of his players over the next few weeks will decide all our futures.