RUUD AWAKENING

The £8 million striker, bought apparently to appease Alan Shearer as the England skipper wanted a targetman to play off, has given the background to the Dutch coach`s amazing decision to relegate Shearer to the bench for the 2-1 derby defeat against Sunderland in August.

The big Scot has nothing but admiration for Shearer and has described him as `the best in the business. He said:"It was crazy, just stupid, to leave Alan out of that game. I will always be grateful to Ruud Gullit for bringing me to Newcastle.

"But the truth of that is to play anybody instead of Alan in any game is just silly. It just showed he had lost the plot."

At the time Newcastle had played four games and had only one point to show for their efforts. Shearer`s replacement, the raw Paul Robinson set-up Kieron Dyer as Newcastle took the lead but in monsoon conditions, goals from Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips saw the Wearside club ease to victory.

Both Ferguson and Shearer were sent on with although Shearer was only left with 15 minutes to change things. Ferguson said:"When Ruud did make a substitution he put me on before Alan, which was just as daft as leaving him out in the first place.

"It was adding insult to injury - it was really was a disgrace. I wasn`t even fit at the time and the manager knew it. It was obvious he was trying to make a point about Alan.

"But if you make a decision like that, to leave out Alan Shearer against your biggest rivals from down the road, then you`ve got to win the game if you want to keep your job.

"He didn`t win but then he had the cheek to tell the media Newcastle were winning before he sent on Alan and me - the inference being that if he hadn`t made those substitutions we might well have won.

"I wasn`t having that and I stormed into the manager`s office the next morning to let him know he was bang out of order. The door was still just about on its hinges when I came out - and Alan Shearer was the next man in.

"I think Ruud got the message. He resigned the next day.

The Scot revealed his admiration for his strike partner. He said:"There is nobody better - you just have to look at his record with Southampton, Blackburn and Newcastle to see that.

"At the start of the season when Newcastle were having a bad time Alan took so much criticism it was ludicrous. I couldn`t believe how many people were queuing up to have a go at him.

"He does the business week after week and even when he`s not scoring - which is not too often - he`s playing his heart out for the team.

Ferguson has also blamed Gullit for the long-term problems that have been a feature of his Newcastle career to date. He was unhappy at being sent to Holland for pre-season work.

Ferguson said:"It was a big mistake because they kept me working for two and a half weeks when I could still feel the injury behind my right knee

"Training over there only made it worse and I kept telling them I was in pain. I came back worse than when I went to Holland, but at least the medics and physios at Newcastle accepted I had a problem.

"A scan revealed two tears at the back of the knee and I missed the start of the season.

Ferguson regrets the first 12 months of his Newcastle career, he said: "My only New Year wish is that I stay fit. I`m so keen to start repaying the faith of the fans and the club.

"I owe Newcastle games and goals, it`s as simple as that."