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Alan Shearer has slammed Newcastle United’s players, fuming: “If the Magpies are going down, they could at least go down with a fight.”

The Magpies’ record all-time goalscorer ripped into the United squad for their “shambolic defensive display” during the sorry 3-1 defeat at Southampton on Saturday.

Shearer singled out the fact that Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini are still Newcastle’s centre-backs seven years after the pair were relegated with United to highlight the Magpies’ failed recruitment strategy.

The ex-England captain also accused Georginio Wijnaldum and Moussa Sissoko of going “missing again away from home”.

Writing in his column for The Sun, Shearer seethed: “If Newcastle are going down, they could at least go down with a fight.

“At Southampton on Saturday they showed no fight at all until it was obvious they could not win.

“They were hopeless for the first 45 minutes and by the time they did improve slightly in the second half, it was already too late.”

Shearer was across at Augusta taking in The Masters but watched the Newcastle game on TV with Sir Alex Ferguson.

A couple of people commented that Newcastle had talented players, to which Shearer wrote: “Have they? At the moment it is hard to name them.

“Because all I saw on Saturday was Georginio Wijnaldum and Moussa Sissoko go missing again away from home, Aleksandar Mitrovic barely touch the ball and another shambolic defensive display.

“Recruitment has been a big problem at the club. Nobody can dispute that. It is the biggest reason for Newcastle’s decline since they finished fifth in the Premier League in 2012.

“But those that have been brought in at Newcastle have either not been good enough for Premier League football or not been up for the challenge.

“It is all well and good having ability but ability alone in a relegation scrap is not enough. You need characters that are going to fight.

“You need players that are going to roll up their sleeves and have a right good go.

That has not been the case for Newcastle unfortunately.”

Newcastle have now shipped 61 goals in 32 Premier League matches, giving them the second-worst defence in the top flight.

Shearer, for one, is not surprised given their failure to sign proven centre-backs over the past seven years.

He continued: “It is also staggering that a centre-half was not signed in January given how they have struggled defensively all season — conceding 61 goals in 32 league matches.

“Even last summer, only DR Congo star Chancel Mbemba came in and, having played OK early on, he has also looked out of sorts in recent games.

“It says it all that Steven Taylor, who was hooked at half-time at Southampton, and Fabricio Coloccini, who was playing every week before his injury, were two of the centre-halves I had as manager when we were relegated in 2009.

“That alone tells you that centre-half is a position that has not been properly addressed in seven years.”

Not only does Shearer fully expect Newcastle to get relegated, he is concerned the Magpies will not be able to achieve promotion out of the Championship due to the lack of “characters” in the dressing room.

He added: “It looks very bleak now and the worry is, if they do go down, would they have enough characters to get back up?

“There are so many big clubs now in the Championship that promotion would not be the stroll it was in 2010.

“That is a terrifying thought for Newcastle and their fans.

“I’m just like everyone else in the city. I am desperate for them to stay in the division. I want them to play Premier League football.

“So this has been on the cards for some time now. The writing has been on the wall.

“But their worst nightmare now finally looks like becoming a reality. It is heartbreaking to see.”