Alan Shearer (talking to the Chronicle): “I understand the fans, it’s the same for me. I’m exactly the same as the fans at the minute - I’m one of them.
“I pay for my ticket and I’m the same. I am entitled to my opinion.
“It hasn’t been pleasant watching to be honest.
“It’s been poor.
“It has been poor since January this year,
“The quicker we can get out of it the better.
“I don’t hold too much hope for us this season. I think it could be a long hard season for us.
“Nobody can make any excuses.
“The simple fact is we haven’t been good enough.
“You can make whatever excuses you want.
“Injuries, too many games or confidence.
“Put all of that to one side, the simple fact of the matter is we just have not been good enough.
“We haven’t been unlucky. We havent been ravaged by injuries.
“We haven’t been done by dodgy decisions.
“We just haven’t been good enough. It’s simple. That’s the harsh reality of it.
“Things have to improve and they have to improve pretty quickly or we could find ourselves in a hole.”