Soccer-Newcastle must stop conceding silly goals, says Shearer

By Jason Mellor

NEWCASTLE, England, April 4 (Reuters) - Newcastle United's temporary manager Alan Shearer said he needed to restore confidence among his players and stop them gifting goals to the opposition after Saturday's 2-0 defeat by Chelsea.

Second-half strikes from Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda left 18th-placed Newcastle in deep trouble in the relegation zone, three points behind local rivals Sunderland in 17th.

"It was always going to be a very hard task," Shearer told a news conference after the first of his eight matches in charge before stepping down at the end of the season.

"I remain optimistic and I'm trying to pick out positives but we have to get some confidence back into the players.

"We have to make the most of this week ahead to prepare for our next game but first and foremost we need to stop conceding silly goals."

A party atmosphere welcomed former Newcastle and England captain Shearer at the start but he shunned the opportunity to milk the adulation from a rare St James' Park full-house of 52,000 in favour of a low-key entry to the dugout.

Chelsea then turned into unpopular guests by putting Newcastle's 16-year Premier League tenure in further peril.

Shearer's team matched the title hopefuls in the first half but the visitors went ahead in the 56th minute when Lampard scored after Argentina defender Fabricio Coloccini was caught in possession by Nicolas Anelka.