THERE has been a lot of speculation following the departure of Graeme Souness from Newcastle over who would take that job on.

One man who has definitely ruled himself out is Alan Shearer, stating that he is nowhere near experienced enough and only now going through the process of gaining his coaching qualifications before taking on management.

I think you have to admire someone who has had a terrific playing career, is a very wealthy man in his own right and who has no need to put himself into the hot seat anywhere, for doing that.

He could quite easily make a living in front of the TV cameras analysing games and pointing out what mistakes managers and players have made. To do that, they do not have to get any qualifications other than to have had a good playing career. I'm thinking of Graeme Le Saux, Jamie Redknapp and Lee Dixon, all good players, and there is now an easy route for them to continue being involved in football.

I'm not sure whether, having been just a player, gives them the overall picture to sit in judgment of what is going on.

Of the two old heads at it, Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson, Lawrenson has had a go at management with Oxford, while Alan Hansen has not.

But both were European Cup winners with vast playing experience and have been a long time on television, so I can see where their views come from.

There was a time when FA coaching qualifications were fairly easy to obtain. It is one reason why clubs turned to foreign coaches and managers because the FA neglected that side of the game or it went with the fashion of that particular day.

I started going on coaching courses when it was a crime to give the ball away and as a result the game was very negative.

There was an about-turn when Charles Hughes became director of coaching and, on the back of Wimbledon and Watford's long-ball success, the FA's courses were based on knocking the ball long and getting it forward as quickly as possible. That spawned a generation of players who could knock it a long way but could not compete with the best in Europe in terms of control and passing.

Now it is pleasing that the FA have really got their teeth into educating managers and the pro-licence, the minimum requirement for coaching and managing in the Premiership, has to be earned.

Shearer might not be everyone's cup of tea but, with his determination and his dedication to the game, I would not back against him to be a very successful manager.