Jermaine Jenas admits he expected Alan Shearer to be appointed Newcastle boss earlier in the season - and he just hopes there is enough time for him to save their season.
Shearer has six games to get the club out of relegation trouble and travels to Tottenham on Sunday looking for his first win as a manager - one of three tough away games as they also face Liverpool and Aston Villa.
Spurs midfielder Jenas, Shearer's former team-mate, said: "I wasn't surprised when he came in, I was expecting it all season. I'm sure he will do really well. I was reading that Shay (Given), another of my old team-mates, was worried that they may have left it too late. You hope it isn't too late."
Unfortunately for Shearer, Spurs have a place in Europe to play for and have also conceded the least amount of home goals in the Barclays Premier League this season.
Jenas has been a regular since Spurs went on a run that turned them from relegation candidates to European hopefuls, although he is struggling with a hamstring injury.
If he does not make it, Jenas will tell his team-mates how Newcastle will be "scrapping" for survival.
"If you look at the size of the club, nobody would have said at the start of the season they could have gone down," Jenas said. "It's unfortunate they are in that position and they will be scrapping.
"For a club like Newcastle to drop out of the Premier League is massive. We need to make sure we are up for the fight ourselves."
Copyright (c) PA Sport 2009, All Rights Reserved.
