Alan Shearer is to take over as Newcastle United's manager until the end of the season in a sensational move which will see the club's former captain, who has no coaching experience, charged with the task of avoiding relegation.

Newcastle sit third from bottom of the Premier League and have turned to their popular former striker after a desperate run of form under the caretaker manager, Chris Hughton, and amid concerns over the health of Joe Kinnear.

Kinnear was appointed as a short-term "firefighter" in September but has not worked since undergoing a triple heart bypass operation in February. He has an appointment with a cardiologist on Monday but the club has decided in advance of that to make a managerial change.

It seems highly unlikely that Shearer's appointment will not turn out to be a longer-term deal, although all that matters for now is ensuring the club does not drop into the Championship, which would be potentially financially calamitous.

Shearer has long been expected to take the reins at St James' Park at some point but it is something of a surprise that he has chosen to do so amid such turbulence and uncertainty over the club's future. His appointment comes after the owner, Mike Ashley, had ignored a series of opportunities to hire him in the past.

After Sam Allardyce was sacked in January 2008, Shearer made it clear that he was keen to accept the job but Ashley turned a deaf ear to his overtures and instead appointed Kevin Keegan, Newcastle's other great icon. Keegan's half-hearted attempts to bring Shearer on to the coaching staff were met with a polite rebuff but given the past friction between the men that was no surprise.

When Keegan departed this season, Shearer again signalled that he was ready to take charge in the right circumstances but the team looked in a far healthier position at that point. Newcastle have won only one of their past 12 league games, a narrow victory over the bottom club West Bromwich Albion, and Shearer's first two matches look daunting. He will start on Saturday at home to Chelsea and then take the team to Newcastle's fellow strugglers Stoke City for a crucial game.

Shearer appears to be under no illusions as to the scale of the task ahead. When asked last week about Newcastle's situation, he said: "It will be one hell of a battle. It will be one hell of a fight.

''It will be tough. We have some tough games coming up. I don't think anyone can safely say that we are going to be guaranteed safety."

Although there were frenzied celebrations on Tyneside last night, in the cold light of morning fans may be divided over Shearer's appointment. While many will be delighted to see their former hero back, others may be concerned by his lack of managerial experience.

One individual bound to welcome the appointment is Michael Owen. Shearer persuaded the striker to sign for Newcastle in the first place and the pair share a mutual respect. If anyone is capable of rejuvenating Owen's latterly flagging career it is probably Shearer. With the team struggling to score goals, Premier League survival is likely to be dependent on Owen regaining his penalty area sharpness.

Shearer becomes the fourth person to lead the club this season, with Ashley finally deciding he could no longer allow the side to drift under Hughton while waiting for Kinnear to recover from surgery. Shearer could bring Rob Lee, his close friend and former Newcastle team-mate, on to his coaching staff.

Rescue mission: Eight crunch games

Newcastle, third from bottom, have just eight games to climb out of the relegation places.

Saturday Chelsea H

11 April Stoke City A

19 April Tottenham Hotspur A

27 April Portsmouth H

2 May Liverpool A

9 May Middlesbrough H

16 May Fulham H

24 May Aston Villa A