Alan Shearer: "I won't be the next Newcastle manager.
"I can guarantee you that.
"I have said never say never but I can guarantee I won't be the next Newcastle manager.
"I wonder to myself where Mike Ashley thinks Newcastle should be, if he thinks they should be higher than mid-table because I'm not being disrespectful to the squad but they're not going to be in the top six or seven.
"That isn't Newcastle's season. Newcastle's season this year should be all about staying in the Premier League.
"At this moment in time there's no danger of them (being relegated).
"They'll be there because there's teams that are worse than them.
"For me, Chris was doing a very, very fine job.
"I'm one of the vast majority who thought Chris was doing an excellent job.
"I'm all for experience but surely you've got to look at the job someone has actually done.
"I think, with the rumours that were going around from the beginning of the season, that you just get the feeling Chris wasn't the man they wanted in charge of Newcastle - for whatever reason.
"The vibe I've been getting from the guys I know is that they had an excellent team spirit. And you've got to say Chris has created that.
"He's got some players who looked as if they were on their way out playing very, very well.
"You can see there's obvious disappointment from within the dressing room that their manager and the guy that brought them back into the Premier League has left.
"You get paid to go out and play for the club.
"Man management is a huge part of football these days and Chris was very good at that, but on the other hand players get paid to go out and play.
"It would certainly be wrong of them now not to go out and perform like they have done for Chris."