Alan Shearer names the Newcastle United player that had a ‘day to forget’ v Bournemouth

Alan Shearer believes Newcastle United should rightly be disappointed by their draw at Bournemouth - but insisted that reaction shows how far the Magpies have come over the last year.

This weekend marked the 12-month anniversary of a narrow 1-0 home win against Aston Villa that saw Eddie Howe’s side maintain their push out of the Premier League relegation zone before going on to secure a mid-table finish at the end of the season.

The current campaign has been overwhelmingly positive as United continue to fight for a return to European competition for the first time in a decade and they can end the club’s 67-year wait for domestic silverware when they face Manchester United in the Carabao Cup Final later this month.

But there has been some minor criticism of the performance in Saturday’s draw at Bournemouth as a Miguel Almiron equaliser cancelled out a Marcos Senesi strike as Eddie Howe claimed a point on his first return to his former club.

Although the Magpies were undoubtedly not at their best at the Vitality Stadium, they did continue a remarkable run of league form that has contained just one defeat in 22 games so far this season.

Shearer reflected on 12 months of a ‘big improvement’ at St James Park and believed the high standards set by Howe are the reason for the response to the draw on the South Coast.

He said: “They’d have snapped your hands off for a point a year ago but it shows how far they have come that they are disappointed with a point because of the high standards they have set.

“There were so many players off-form and most of the team weren’t at it. Saint-Maximin, didn’t quite work out for him and they perhaps got a bit lucky. Dan Burn had a day to forget, Traore catches him on the ball and he’s got Kieran Trippier to thank, really good defending because he knows his team is in trouble.

“(The ball) falls to Solanke, flicks it and what a clearance that is. They’ll have better days but they’re undefeated again, that’s the positive. Where they are now from where they were, it’s a big improvement.”

United are back in action on Saturday evening when Liverpool visit St James Park.