Fledgling Newcastle manager Alan Shearer has left his players in little doubt who is in charge. Midfielder Nicky Butt, who played alongside the 38-year-old for England, has been hugely impressed with the way he has assumed the mantle of boss since accepting the task of trying to rescue his hometown club.
Shearer will send out his side at Stoke on Saturday knowing a failure to return to Tyneside with anything to show for their efforts will leave them deep in relegation trouble with only six games to play.
However, they way in which he has set about his task has already had an impact within the dressing room.
Butt said: "He commands respect, especially at this club. "As players, you always look up to players who have been there, seen it and done it, and Alan certainly has done that. "He's made it clear what he expects and what he's trying to do. Everybody's happy with it and we are all delighted. We know he's in charge and we know who the boss is.
"Joe (Kinnear) had his illness and it was difficult for Colin (Calderwood) and Chris (Hughton). Going from coach to being in charge is always difficult. "Now we have somebody in Alan, we know he is in charge. He's the man you go to with a problem and he's the man we all answer to. It's good to have somebody like that."
Shearer, of course, enjoys legendary status in Newcastle after snubbing some of Europe's biggest clubs, including, on more than one occasion, Manchester United to return home and plunder a record 206 goals in the famous black and white shirt.
He freely admits his current challenge is the biggest of them all, and Butt believes the fact he has put his reputation on the line is a measure of the man. He said: "He has come in at a difficult time, put his name on the line and now we have to repay that.
"We have got to feed off that. We have got to do that by performing well and not being afraid to play football." That said, victory at Stoke would be a godsend, however it was secured, with the Magpies currently three points adrift of safety and in grave danger of slipping out of the top flight for the first time since 1993.
Having suffered relegation with Birmingham during his loan spell at St Andrews in 2005-06, Butt knows only too well what is at stake. However, he is focusing purely on what he and his team-mates can affect as the fight for survival gathers pace.
The 34-year-old said: "When you speak with your mates and family, they will tell you who is playing who. "They say other results can help you - but, if we don't help ourselves now, then nobody can help us in the next few weeks. "We need to win the games we are playing and get points. Regardless of other teams, we have to start performing. "We are in the bottom three and we need to use the Stoke game to get out of it."
That is a view shared by Shearer. He said: "You could sit here and talk about, 'This team has a tough run-in', or 'That team has got an easier run-in'. "I don't think you can look at it that way, I really don't.
"You tell me which of our games is going to be easy? None of them are. "They are all going to be different challenges, they are all going to be playing different formations, different tactics.
"Now, are we good enough, are we clever enough and are we brave enough to go and get results in those games? Starting on Saturday."
