Newcastle United's director of football Joe Kinnear has slammed club legend Alan Shearer, describing his comments on his appointment as "diabolical".

Shearer told The Sun last week that Kinnear's appointment undermined Alan Pardew and turned the club into a "laughing stock".

In an interview with The Times, Kinnear reacted angrily to Shearer's suggestions and claimed that the former England striker "hasn't got a clue".

"What Shearer says is diabolical," Kinnear said in his interview. "This is a guy who hasn't got a clue about coaching.

"The last game of the [2008-09] season he came up with the master idea of playing Damien Duff at left-back. Damien is one of the best left-wingers in the business, but can't tackle. And we went down with an own goal from Damien.

"Shearer keeps slagging me off. He is being disrespectful to me. I am entitled to fight back."

Since Kinnear re-joined the Magpies, managing director Derek Llambias has resigned from his role at the club.