Magpies legend Shearer scathing of Newcastle's display at Luton as he admits Town fully deserved their victory

​Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer was scathing of his former side’s performance during their 1-0 defeat at Luton Town on Saturday, as he admitted the Hatters were fully deserving of the victory.

The Premier League's all-time leading scorer, with 260 goals to his name, who also played for Blackburn Rovers and Southampton, was analysing the game on Match of the Day in which Andros Townsend’s 25th minute strike was enough to separate the two sides.

Discussing the contest, which was the Magpies' fourth successive top flight defeat on the road, he said: “There's no doubt about it, they deserved it, they were the much better team in every single department. In any football match you've got to match your opponents physically, you've got to have the desire, have the intensity and you’ve got to have a will to win, even more so when you’re going to Luton who are going to be playing for their captain Tom Lockyer.

"This is in the first couple of minutes in the game when Luton have far more intensity and Newcastle not really pressing them at all. We all know Luton like putting crosses into the box, they’re very good at putting crosses into the box, so you’ve got to try and stop that. That means you’ve got to work hard to try and stop the cross coming in, not standing five, 10 yards off and letting them whip a ball in.

"This is not acceptable, one run straight through the three Newcastle midfielders and all of a sudden you’re into the back four and you’re putting your team under pressure. Then, what are Luton good at as well? They’re really, really good at set-pieces so you’ve got to be switched on, and they weren’t. They close the first one and then (Lewis) Miley loses his man and they get punished.

"Pressing? No, that’s not pressing, that’s not intensity, that's not having a will to win from Newcastle and Luton deserved it as they were much better, they were more organised. Luton wanted it more than Newcastle today, they were the better team and they deserved the three points."