ALAN Shearer has revealed he made the return of Mark Viduka one of his main priorities when he came back to Newcastle United as manager.

Viduka has responded superbly following a personal plea from Shearer to help save the team from relegation, and the Magpies were rewarded with a sensational performance from the Australian in the 3-1 win over Middlesbrough.

Shearer has not ruled out the possibility of giving the 33-year-old a new contract at the end of the season, although he will want to see more of the same against Fulham and Aston Villa.

He said: “I was absolutely delighted. His performance against Middlesbrough was precisely the reason why we did not give up on him. The fitness guys have worked ever so hard with him, and so has Mark.

“We had to get him fit because we knew he could put in the type of performances which could help save this club from relegation. A fit Mark Viduka playing like that, not many people can handle him. Middlesbrough simply couldn’t handle him.

“Trying to get him playing was an obvious priority for me because we knew what a good player he is and it would have been a terrible waste if we had just let him waste away, which is what was happening. We knew he had these sorts of performances in him. Hopefully we will get another one of those out of him against Fulham on Saturday.”

Viduka has been plagued by a series of problems with his Achilles this season and almost quit last summer when he was told he needed an operation which needed nine months of rehabilitation.

But the former Leeds United and Boro star can continue to play as long as the injury is carefully managed by Newcastle’s medical staff. Shearer added: “It’s a Catch-22 situation. We want to keep him fit, but we don’t want to push him too hard in case he gets injured. It’s been a delicate balancing act. But he has done superbly since I got to this club and has shown fantastic desire to get out there playing.”

Shearer also praised Kevin Nolan’s contribution to the side just two weeks after he was dropped from the squad for the home game against Portsmouth.

He said: “I left Kevin Nolan out of the side a couple of weeks ago, but it is a measure of the man that we have got exactly the sort of reaction a manager wants from a player. He was obviously disappointed to have been left out, but he is a tremendous professional and I knew that, by leaving him out, I would get a reaction. I thought he was one of our star players on Monday night.”