Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2008-02-02 From: Xinhuanet

LONDON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) — Former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer has turned down an offer from the struggling Premier League club’s new manager Kevin Keegan.

“He (Keegan) basically told me I could come in as his assistant or in any role I wanted but the timing is just not right,” Shearer was quoted by The Sun on Saturday.

Shearer, now a TV pundit with the BBC, was taken by Keegan to Newcastle for a then-world record fee of 15 million pounds (29.85 million U.S. dollars) in 1996 and the home-town boy scored a club record 206 goals, including 148 in the league.

Newcastle have slipped to 12th in the 20-team standings after failing to win in their last seven league games, and failed to score a goal with only a draw since Keegan took over in mid-January.