IF CRAIG BELLAMY held any hopes of a return to Newcastle United, they were extinguished yesterday after it was revealed he had sent insulting text messages to Alan Shearer, the club captain and icon after the 4-1 FA Cup semi-final defeat by Manchester United.

The 25-year-old — presently on loan to Celtic until the end of the season — has claimed that the insulting messages to Shearer and Kenneth Shepherd, the son of Freddy, the club chairman, were sent by somebody else.

Freddy Shepherd confirmed that messages were received. “It’s true that messages were received from Bellamy’s phone — but he got more than he bargained for from Alan Shearer,” Shepherd said. “The text he sent to Kenneth was mildly upsetting but what he said to Shearer was insulting. It was along the lines that he was past it and his legs had gone and that he was going to come back here from Celtic.

“I can tell you there is no chance of that. Bellamy has taken on a hero in Alan and there is only one winner of that one. And it is not Bellamy.

“He has since claimed that he lost his phone. I suppose it was found by someone who knew Alan and Kenneth’s numbers.”

Bellamy joined Celtic in January after a public fall-out with Graeme Souness, the Newcastle manager, who said he had been lied to by the Wales striker over the level of his fitness — Bellamy was known to be unwilling to play because he didn’t like playing on the flank.

He scored the decisive goal in Sunday’s crucial Old Firm victory over Rangers but has now been ruled out for three weeks with a hamstring injury. His long-term future is still to be resolved.

Shepherd — who earlier had said “Alan was obviously so riled he reacted. He told Bellamy he would knock his block off if he ever set foot back in Newcastle” — yesterday moved to defuse those claims. In a statement, Newcastle said: “Following media reports, the chairman wishes to make it clear that Alan Shearer has never said to him that he would knock seven bells out of anyone.”

Aside from Bellamy’s falling out, Shepherd and Souness have had to sit and watch in disbelief in recent weeks as Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer punched each other during the Barclays Premiership match with Aston Villa and read Lauren Robert openly criticise the club on the day of their Uefa Cup quarter-final second leg tie with Sporting Lisbon.

Souness dropped Robert for that match, which resulted in a resounding 4-1 defeat and elimination, and then a team without the suspended Bowyer and Dyer limped to that FA Cup defeat by Manchester United three days later to end their hopes of a trophy this season.

Adding to the row over gloating, Stilian Petrov, the Celtic midfield player, yesterday admitted he might have “over-celebrated” his opening goal in the 2-1 win at Rangers on Sunday.

The Bulgaria international was struck by a plastic cup thrown from the Copland Road stand at Ibrox after celebrating his 21st-minute header in front of Rangers fans.

The 25-year-old held his hand up in a conciliatory gesture but concedes his reaction to the goal might not have been appreciated by the Ibrox supporters. “Maybe I over-celebrated but, after that, I apologised to their fans and raised my hand to them,” he said.

“We work so hard during the week, you put so much into the game, this derby game, and, when you score you go mad. When you’re hit by something, at first, you’re shocked but, when I saw it was nothing serious, I just got on with the game. But it’s over now and the important thing is, nothing happened.”