BLACKBURN defender Craig Short has admitted he fears facing Craig Bellamy more than Alan Shearer as the Newcastle United strike pair prepare to descend on Ewood Park tonight.

Bellamy is back in business again following a four month lay-off with a knee injury.

And Short believes the Welsh international striker is ready to breathe new life into the Magpies' push for a Champions League spot by renewing his successful alliance with Ewood old boy Shearer.

The United pair have been dynamite together in the past with Bellamy's lightning pace perfectly complementing Shearer's more physical approach.

Now Sir Bobby Robson could hand the former Norwich star his first start since October 4 against Rovers following two recent appearances as a substitute.

And Short has warned his team-mates to be on red alert if they want to repeat Saturday's clean sheet at Middlesbrough.

"I'd rather play against Shearer than Bellamy because no defender wants to play against anyone with pace," said Short.

"You know what you are going to get with Alan, although I'm not trying to take away how dangerous he is.

"Physically, he's very strong and he's obviously a great finisher but it's his desire more than anything else which sets him apart.

"However, Bellamy has been the catalyst for them in the last couple of years and Newcastle have not been able to play them together enough this season."

Shearer's incredible appetite for goals shows no signs of abating despite the passage of time.

Once again, he is up among the leading goalscorers in the Premiership, having found the net a total of 17 times for United this term.

And although Short says the former England captain is now a different animal from the one who first burst onto the scene with Southampton 16 years ago, he insists there is still no-one like him in the Premiership.

"I played against Alan when he was 17 at Southampton and I thought he was outstanding then," said Short.

"He was strong even then for a 17 year old and he also had a lot of pace but he's obviously lost a bit of that since then. Nevertheless, I've not seen anyone come through like him since then.

"I think players like Alan only come through once in a life-time.

"Ruud van Nistelrooy has been outstanding for the last two years but he's got to prove he can do it consistently.

"I don't think he's got the physical presence of Shearer.

"He might be a little bit quicker and he's also a very good finisher but you can dominate him physically more than you can with Shearer."

Short missed Rovers' 1-0 win at Newcastle earlier in the season when Markus Babbel and Andy Todd did an excellent job of keeping Shearer quiet.

However, the veteran defender looks certain to start alongside Babbel tonight after the experienced duo snuffed out the threat posed by Middlesbrough at the weekend.

"I've played with a few different partners this season and we've all had good games at various points, but none of us have really been consistent enough to keep our places," said Short.

"I know when I came back (before Christmas) we had two clean sheets but we then lost 2-0 to Villa and got beat 4-0 away at Birmingham.

"Maybe sometimes because of my age I get away with one or two things.

"People say 'the experienced ones are back and they are going to shore things up' but you always know that a drubbing could be waiting just around the corner.

"So I'm not taking anything for granted. I know I've got to perform if I want to keep my place."