Mark Viduka is an enigmatic character but it did not take Alan Shearer long to work out how to get the best out of him. Chief sports writer Luke Edwards reports

WHEN Alan Shearer marched on to Newcastle United’s training ground for the first time as a manager in April and asked Mark Viduka if he wanted to fight, some would have expected punches to be thrown.

As a player, Shearer got the most out of every drop of talent he had been born with, yet on his first day as a manager he was confronting a player whose effort can pale in comparison to the ability he possesses.

Viduka is an infuriating footballer, supremely talented, but alarmingly injury prone to the point where his attitude and commitment have been openly questioned by managers and supporters frustrated by his apparent frailty.

Shearer, though, did not worry about a reputation and he did not listen to those who said the 33-year-old with the dodgy Achilles was a has-been ready to return to the beaches and barbecues Down Under.

Shearer remembered the player he had lined up against at Leeds United and Middlesbrough and the devastation he could cause to a defence when he was fit, motivated and, perhaps more significantly for a complex character like this, happy.

It has been an early triumph for a rookie manager who has been rewarded with the sort of high-class performances from Viduka which have reminded us that, even in the twilight of his career, he is a world-class centre forward when handled correctly. “When Alan Shearer came in, the first thing he said to me was ‘Are you up for a fight?’, said Viduka, before clarifying he had not actually meant with him. “And I am always up for a fight.