THE vultures are circling Leeds United and you could sense that Eddie Gray, the caretaker manager, knew it after a third successive defeat in league and Cup made it a gloomy start to the New Year for the Elland Road faithful. Leeds are two points off the bottom of the Barclaycard Premiership and facing the threat of going into administration; Gray’s “we can still get out of this” post-match declaration carried a hollow ring.

Alan Shearer’s fourth-minute winner piloted Newcastle United into the top six but the lack of conviction was catching. Newcastle had a dozen chances to re-establish their Champions League credentials but ended up hanging on for the victory that they should have secured at a canter.

At least Shearer delivered, as he usually does against Leeds. His 15-yard strike from Nolberto Solano’s pass was his twelfth goal for Newcastle against the Yorkshire club and they remain his favourite Premiership team to score against. However, what promised to be a cakewalk turned instead into a shuffle on the gangplank for the Toon Army, who had demanded a goal glut to match last weekend’s dazzling 3-0 FA Cup victory away to Southampton.

It is a measure of how much Newcastle fans hanker for past glories that Paul Gascoigne received the loudest ovation of the night when he made a guest appearance at half-time.The 2,000th home league match in Newcastle’s history rightly ended in a victory if only because Shay Given, their goalkeeper, hardly had a save to make.

There is a level of unfulfilled expectation on Tyneside and there was more frustration than jubilation about a result that gave Newcastle their second win in seven games and sent them closer to the top-four finish they crave.

This game was more about the goals that Newcastle failed to score after tearing Leeds apart in the opening 45 minutes. Kieron Dyer, the two-goal hero at Southampton, was the main culprit but he was not the only one as Leeds, sparked by the arrival of Michael Bridges in the final 20 minutes, threatened to give them a scare.

Sir Bobby Robson claimed that Paul Robinson, the Leeds goalkeeper, who made outstanding saves in each half from Jermaine Jenas and Hugo Viana, deserved to be sent off for bringing down Dyer outside the box after 33 minutes.

“Their goalkeeper should not have been on the pitch. He clattered Kieron outside the area and got away with it. The linesman didn’t want to know but I feel strongly about it,” the Newcastle manager said.

“Kieron said he’d been fouled and Robinson was lucky. We needed the second goal because Leeds didn’t give it up and they gave us a battle.On that evidence they shouldn’t go down.

“You are never going to get everything your own way and I’m pleased because Shay Given didn’t have a save to make and we saw it out. It was a sizzling shot by Shearer, one of his best. We are back up to sixth with half a season to go and we are in with seven other clubs for that top-four place.”

Bridges, reportedly a Newcastle target, caused a stir but failed to make the most of the one chance that came his way by scuffing a 79th-minute shot that barely reached Given.

A goal would have been an injustice to Newcastle and even Gray conceded that Leeds were fortunate to be only one goal adrift at the break. It is probably easier finding Beagle 2 than causes for optimism at Elland Road but Gray put a brave face on it and insisted: “The players believe that they can get out of trouble, as I do. We have suffered three defeats but they feel they have a chance of pulling away. It’s a disappointing night because we have to pick up points. But it was a great strike by Shearer and he has the habit of doing that against us.

“Mark Viduka gave Jonathan Woodgate a good battle and Michael did well when he came on. But I’m the first to admit that Newcastle missed a few opportunities.”

David Batty added to Gray’s worries by limping out of his return to his former club after just 30 minutes with an ankle injury that will keep him out of Saturday’s game against Tottenham Hotspur.

With Alan Smith serving the second of his two-match FA ban for bottle throwing, Gray will again have to juggle his resources in a bid to widen the flimsy gap that now separates Leeds from Wolverhampton Wanderers, the bottom club.

• John Charles, the former Leeds, Juventus and Wales player, is recovering after suffering a heart attack while on holiday in Italy. The 72-year-old collapsed after giving a television interview and had an emergency two-hour operation in Milan.

  NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-4-2): S Given — A Hughes, J Woodgate, T Bramble, O Bernard — N Solano (sub: D Ambrose, 81min), J Jenas, G Speed, L Robert (sub: H Viana, 79) — K Dyer, A Shearer. Substitutes not used: K Harper, A O’Brien, L LuaLua.

  LEEDS UNITED (4-5-1): P Robinson — G Kelly, D Matteo, M Duberry, I Harte — M Kilgallon, J Pennant, Seth Johnson (sub: M Bridges, 68), D Batty (sub: S Olembe, 30), J Milner (sub: L Sakho, 88) — M Viduka. Substitutes not used: S Carson, F Richardson. Booked: Kelly

  Referee: P Dowd.