THOMAS GRAVESEN hit back at Alan Shearer's "coward" taunt last night and accused the Newcastle United striker of sour grapes.

As the Football Association refused to say whether Gravesen would be charged with violent conduct, the Everton midfielder claimed Shearer's outburst was borne out of "frustration" at Newcastle's defeat.

Sir Bobby Robson also slammed Gravesen for his "outrageous" challenge on Olivier Bernard, but the Dane was unrepentant yesterday.

He said: "They probably felt very let down because they had lost to us; they were frustrated.

"I never go into a tackle to injure a player. I felt it was a 50-50 situation with both of us eager to get the ball, although it did look bad when he fell.

"But I was trying to help him by signalling to get help from the touchline for him."

Gravesen could yet be punished for the tackle by the FA's video panel, who banned Liverpool's Steven Gerrard for three games earlier this season for a two-footed lunge at Everton's Gary Naysmith that was missed by the referee.

An FA spokesman said: "We will wait to receive the match officials' reports before we decide whether any further action will be taken."

Former Newcastle defender Steve Watson last night defended Gravesen, who was booked for the eighth time this season when he was cautioned for a foul on Laurent Robert on Sunday.

Watson said: "Whatever happened, happened in front of the referee. He was on top of it and didn't give it, and it's as simple as that."

Jermaine Jenas cut through the disappointment of seeing Newcastle's title challenge founder at Goodison by backing the club's young guns to emulate Manchester United's achievements over the last decade.

David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville - all products of the club's prolific youth system - have been the bedrock of the United team that has swept all before it since the mid-1990s.

And Jenas, 20, said: "We've got some of the most exciting young players in the Premiership, and that's how Manchester United started their era of success.

"I think there are a lot of parallels with us now and how they were when they started to win things.

"Sir Alex Ferguson brought them through at a young age and they're now winners as a result.

"The same thing can happen at Newcastle, and I think we'll go far as a team and we'll win things because we have that mix of youth and experience.

"The young players here have gained so much from this season and we'll not stop improving.

"We're aware of how far this team has come this season. We definitely think we're capable of breaking Manchester United and Arsenal's dominance."

Like manager Robson, Jenas believes referee Neale Barry's controversial decision at Goodison ended Newcastle's hopes of lifting their first championship since 1927. The Magpies are six points adrift of the two top with just half-a-dozen Premiership fixtures remaining, and they are ruing early-season losses to the likes of Manchester City and Leeds United.

Jenas added: "We're not going to give anything up, but our title challenge has probably come to an end because of a referee's decision, or rather the lack of one.

"All we can do is keep winning our games and see what happens. But if anything, we've been let down by our slow start to the season.

"We've been on a fantastic run since then and hauled ourselves into the title race.

"But to be fair, every team in the League will be thinking, 'What if this or that had happened?'

"One thing is for certain: our season isn't over. We can't take our Champions League qualification for granted.

"Chelsea are only four points behind us and another defeat would give them hope of beating us for third spot."