GLENN Roeder last night praised the role Alan Shearer had played in Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round win over Southampton and revealed the Newcastle skipper was already taking his first tentative steps into management.

Shearer was denied the opportunity of a final meeting with the first club of his career when he failed a last-gasp fitness test on an injured calf.

But, with Roeder still leading the Magpies on a caretaker basis, the 35-year-old was asked to assist from the St James' Park dug-out as his side made it three wins out of three since Graeme Souness' departure.

And, while this summer's retirement is still expected to be followed by a stint in the media, Roeder is confident that Shearer will eventually use this weekend's experience to help him in a full-time managerial role.

"He was in the dug-out and I think he enjoyed that," said Roeder, who insisted he would continue to prepare for Wednesday night's home game with Charlton as if it was his last in the job. "He didn't look upon it as an injured player, he looked upon it as a manager. One day, that is exactly what he will be.

"You look at things differently as a manager and I think he got that different insight. You look at different components of the game. The ball might be at one end of the field, but you might be looking at the make-up of your defence and checking they are organised to deal with a break.

"He spoke to the players before and after the game and I'm very happy for him to do that. When he found out he couldn't play, you couldn't go near him. He's desperate to play in each and every game.

"But we had enough players to win without him and he did his stint in the dressing room and dug-out. We won the game - the only thing I couldn't do was get him to step in the technical area. I don't know why that was."

While Shearer's absence provided a glimpse of what is to come, the skipper's on-field presence could yet prove vital in the final stages of the campaign.

Neither Shola Amoebi nor Kieron Dyer were able to hold the ball up as well as Newcastle's number nine and, with an FA Cup quarter-final looming large, Roeder has insisted he will be taking no chances this week.

"It was 80-20 against asking Alan to start," he explained. "He had a scan which revealed he had a slight (calf) strain. If he had started, there was every chance he wouldn't have finished the game and a tear could have taken him out for a month or six weeks.

"That's something we simply couldn't allow to happen. It doesn't need me to say how important he is to us.

"He's 50-50 for Wednesday but, if he doesn't make it, we don't see why he shouldn't be fit for (the visit of Everton on) Saturday.

"It's the same situation as I found myself in with Kieron earlier this month. I'm the most patient man in the world and, as a manager, you have to be. If you start a game with a player that's carrying an injury, you get found out. There is no chance of me letting that happen."

Shearer stole all the headlines in Newcastle's last home game, with his record-breaking goal creating a party atmosphere for Roeder's first match in charge of the club. Two weeks later, and it was Kieron Dyer's match-winning strike that kept the smile on the Magpies' face.

"There's no better feeling than being in a winning dressing room," said Roeder. "They were sat there (on Saturday night) going over each and every incident in the game, talking about how this and that went. It was very happy, and so it should be after three wins on the trot.

"When Alan scored his 201st goal, nobody wanted that night to go away. They all wanted to stay in the dressing room for 15 minutes longer than they would normally do. It was the same again here.

"We are all pleased for Kieron because he's a well-liked member of the squad. I don't really think anyone wanted to leave after this one either."

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