NEWCASTLE United manager Bobby Robson would back top scorer Alan Shearer to reproduce his club form for England, but believes his inspirational skipper won't be talked out of his self-imposed international retirement.

Shearer has been a revelation this term since he completed his recovery from career-saving knee surgery.

The former England captain has revelled in the injection of pace given to the forward line by new boys Craig Bellamy and Laurent Robert.

The signings - especially the £6m invested in Bellamy - have proved masterstrokes by Robson and have given a new lease of life to Shearer.

His strike partnership with Bellamy has now yielded 28 goals - 15 of those to Shearer - and the mixture of power and pace that has terrorised Premiership defences all season is one Robson believes could be repeated at international level.

And the former England boss can see Shearer and Michael Owen carrying on in the same vein as Shearer and Bellamy.

Robson also indicated that he, for one, would be delighted to see his skipper pull on an England shirt for one last tilt at World Cup glory.

"What we are seeing with Bellamy, we could see with Owen," said Robson.

"He (Shearer) will always hold the ball up and Craig knows that. He can do the same thing with Michael Owen.

"He has those leadership qualities, on and off the pitch, and that is important to a manager."

With England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson still seeking the perfect partner for Owen, the canny Swede has hinted that Shearer could yet be the answer.

With current incumbent Emile Heskey struggling to find consistent club form, Robbie Fowler - still to prove himself at internatonal level - and veteran Teddy Sheringham have now emerged as contenders to the Liverpool man for a striker's role in the national side.

But when quizzed whether he thought Shearer would make himself available to England coach Eriksson, Robson admitted: "He's strong-minded and I don't think he'll do it."

Robson acknowledged that Shearer is a different player to the one he inherited from former boss Ruud Gullit back in September 1999.

Robson said: "He wasn't playing well and he and Ruud didn't get along. That wasn't right for either of them and wasn't right for the club."

Those dark days of Gullit's reign are now well behind Shearer, and with his recuperation from tendinitis approaching completion, he is again being touted as a potential partner for Owen in Japan and South Korea.

Shearer has played down those claims and instead is concentrating on his blossoming Bellamy partnership: "I think the way we played in the second half was the best we have linked up.

"Craig did magnificently to set up my goal and every time we got forward in the second half it looked as though we were going to score. It was a great performance from everyone."

Bellamy has returned the compliment by insisting: "Everything has gone like a dream since I came here.

"I'm playing well this season because I'm surrounded by good players and nobody has helped me more than Alan. He's on fire at the moment and we are neck and neck to be top scorer. He has taught me a great deal in a short time."

Dutch international Dries Boussatta has failed to win a contract at Newcastle after a week on trial.

Read more about Newcastle here.