Twelve years to the day since Mike Ashley hired Alan Shearer as Newcastle United manager as club relegated

During a season with four different managers, Shearer was the last attempt from Mike Ashley and had a daunting run of fixtures which included Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool.

However, with only five points in eight games, United went down on the final day of the season as Aston Villa ended the club’s 16-year stay in England’s top division.

We take a look at the club record scorer’s short time in management of his boyhood club, looking at the key moments during his tenure.

The Magpies began their last eight matches with a 2-0 home defeat to Chelsea after a second-half double from the Blues sank the mood at St James’s Park.

Two points from their next three fixtures including a defeat against Spurs as well as draws against Stoke City and Portsmouth left the Magpies even closer to relegation.

A dreaded trip to Anfield was up next with the return of Joey Barton after an injury, Newcastle were hoping to bring any sort of points back to the North East.

With the Reds 2-0 up with 13 minutes left and dominating the visitors, Barton proceeded to make a reckless challenge on Xabi Alonso leading to his marching orders.

Shearer once stated ‘I only had him for an hour’ when describing how Barton was out through injury or suspension during his reign at United.

Newcastle picked up their first win under Shearer when Middlesbrough visited, with the Magpies coming back from behind to win 3-1 after an early Habib Beye own goal.

Steven Taylor levelled the scores before substitutes Obafemi Martins and Peter Lovenkrands ensured the three points went to Newcastle, carrying them out of the bottom three.

A home defeat to Fulham and a red card for Sebastien Bassong meant that the final relegation place would be settled on the last day of the season.

A trip to Villa Park ended in tears for many as Damien Duff’s unlucky deflection meant the club would be playing in the Championship the following season.