Watch: Alan Shearer recalls his weekend spending four hours on a train full of Mackems

There are few players more synonymous with Newcastle United than Alan Shearer and therefore there are few bigger targets for abusive chants from rival fans than him even though he retired 18 years ago.

Sunderland and Manchester United like to keep the Alan Shearer dream alive by singing about the Geordie hero every chance they get. In the case of the Mackems, context isn't even necessary as Alan Shearer found out at the weekend.

Shearer recounted his Planes, Trains and Automobiles-esque journey home from London on The Rest Is Football Podcast that saw his flight to Newcastle cancelled and him having to slum it with the peasants in coach on a packed train home.

Unfortunately for Alan, the carriage he was in was also full of aled-up Sunderland fans on the way home after they won away at Portsmouth.

Shearer spent four hours on a train in hiding

Shearer recalls getting on the train and realising who he'd been put with. He sat with his head down the entire way from Kings Cross to Newcastle with his head down hoping he wouldn't be seen.

"I can't even lift my head up, I'm scared to lift my head up, it's just full of them. They're all in a great mood because their team's won. And they start singing the Newcastle songs. Then they start singing the Shearer songs.

"I had nearly four hours. My neck is killing me today, I couldn't lift my neck up. I had my head down for nearly four hours. I was petrified.

"There was not one person recognised me. I didn't move at all for four hours and I never got spotted once and they just sang and abused me for four hours and they didn't even know I was on the train."

"For all those Sunderland fans on coach C ...."

The story itself was absolutely first-class, pun very much intended, but it was Shearer's message at the end that really capped it off. Unfortunately, we can't repeat it, but it's right there for you to watch for yourselves.

We bet those Mackems are watching that now absolutely gutted about the opportunity they missed.

Although it was probably best they didn't notice him as there'd be no telling what might have happened.