Alan Shearer 'taken aback' at plea by Fabricio Coloccini to Newcastle fans

Captain wrote an open letter to fans calling on them to get behind the team

Favourite son: former Blackburn striker Alan Shearer eyes boss's job (Getty Images)

As Newcastle prepare for one of the biggest games of their season, Fabricio Coloccini has been challenged to lead them away from the relegation trap door and prove that his open letter to fans calling for unity was genuine.

The legitimacy of the letter from the club’s captain has already been questioned, provoking interim manager John Carver to wave the paper it was written on at a press conference on Thursday.

Now Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has criticised the player for questioning the club’s support after a dreadful campaign and a dismal eight-game losing run, the longest in Newcastle’s history.

They face West Bromwich Albion at home on Saturday in an atmosphere of ongoing protest against Mike Ashley’s ownership. Carver, who has looked increasingly out of his depth as the malaise has gripped St James’ Park , called it the biggest game since Newcastle were relegated from the Premier League in 2009.

They stand just two points above the relegation zone, with third-from-bottom North-east rivals Sunderland having a game in hand, in what is the third relegation battle Newcastle have fought under Ashley in the last six years. Newcastle had not dropped out of the Premier League before he took over.

Coloccini’s letter was an attempt to pull everyone together but such is the fractured nature of the club that it has provoked more condemnation. Shearer said: “I was surprised that Coloccini had written a letter to the fans asking them to stick with the team. If there is one thing that is pretty much guaranteed, it is that the fans will turn up.

“There has always been 46,000-plus there. For a player to come out and ask the fans still to support them, I was a bit taken aback and disappointed in that.

“The players have got to give the fans something to shout about. That has to come first. Of late and for a long time, the players haven’t given the fans anything to shout about.”

Fabricio Coloccini (GETTY IMAGES)

Carver admitted he did not know if Coloccini’s intervention could affect a group of players who have hid from their responsibilities. “People will be critical because all season he’s not said anything and he’s saying it now,” he said.

“But at least he’s stepped forward and said, ‘John’s not the problem, we’ve got to sort it out ourselves’. I can’t say yes or no [if it will have a reaction] but I’m hoping so.

“I’m saying ‘I’m part of the problem because I’m part of this team – definitely’. But him stepping forward with that speaks volumes.

“This is probably the biggest game since Aston Villa the year we went down. That was the biggest for a long time and this is up there with it. What we do have is two more cracks at the whip after this one, but it is in our hands.

“There has to be a response. We have to put all our differences aside. We know there are people not happy with the hierarchy. I know there are people not happy with me and with the players.

“It is a big story because we’re a big club,” Carver added. “It’s a bigger fan base than the others so it’s a bit more dramatic. We all know that but let us put that aside. Get it out of our way, get safe and stay in the Premier League.”

Such is the fragility of Newcastle’s threadbare squad that Papiss Cissé, who has been banned for seven games for spitting and trained again only on Thursday after an operation on his knee, is likely to be a substitute. Siem de Jong, however, is still out with a thigh injury.