Alan Shearer was given a hero’s reception as he took to the stage in Wolverhampton – a far cry from his previous visit to the city.

The 38-year-old goalscoring legend wowed a 300-strong, £60-a-head audience with an hour-long session answering their questions, while spending almost as long again dealing with requests for autographs and pictures.

Organisers ‘Legends in Sport’ rated Shearer as the most popular star they had lured to the city so far, while the man himself clearly relished his reception at the Ramada Park Hall Hotel.

Paul Franks, the Radio WM broadcaster who acted as compere, told Shearer the standing ovation and cheering which greeted his arrival on stage, proved the former England striker was “among friends.”

The Match of the Day presenter joked: “I’m relieved to hear it, because the last time I came to Molineux this lot gave me so much stick I couldn’t believe it!”

That brought the house down and provided the perfect prelude to an entertaining Q&A session, with an audience that mixed local football fans with exiled Geordies.

Of that group, no one was happier than Lichfield-based marketing executive Geoff Brown, who had special reason to seek out his hero for an autograph and picture.

Geoff explained: “I was given Alan’s biography for a Christmas present last year and one day found myself looking at the picture on the front, which is of Alan as a youngster playing in Newcastle.

“I suddenly realised the pitches where the picture had been taken were my old school playing fields. When I looked closer, in the background was a goalkeeper from a nearby pitch looking over to see what all the fuss was about. Then I realised it was me!”

Shearer signed the book. The ex-striker, whose 260 Premier goals leave him way out in front of the League’s all-time scorers, gave an insight into his MotD work before dealing with fans’ questions that he requested remained “off the record.”

It was clear Newcastle fans should NOT be expecting any dramatic announcements on his taking over the manager’s job at St James’s Park any time soon.