Even Alan Shearer's fiercest critic would never doubt his courage or desire. But though the England captain will strain every sinew to prove his fitness for the opening game of Euro 2000 on Monday, he must tell Kevin Keegan he is ready to play only if it is 100 per cent true.

That the Newcastle striker wants to take the field against Portugal is undeniable.

Shearer is desperate to bow out of international football as the man who led England to their first major triumph in 34 years and, despite his lacklustre display in Malta last week, and a six-match international goal drought, he has earned the right to go to the wire.

It would be understandable if, despite a nagging doubt at the back of his mind, Shearer were to come through today's training session here in Spa and give Keegan the thumbs-up.

The captain knows he has a maximum of six more matches in an England shirt and, for all the claims of Michael Owen, Emile Heskey, Robbie Fowler and Kevin Phillips, knows he is the most likely striker to deliver the goal that could prove crucial.

It makes the honesty of his decision all the more difficult and all the more important.

Shearer might consider playing the percentages. If he is not quite fit but still takes on the Portuguese, he could rule himself out of the rest of the tournament. Missing one game would allow full recovery.

Set against that is the single-mindedness that has made Shearer the player he is. What seems at times to be his brutal selfishness may be necessary in a striker at the highest level.

But it can work the other way. His preference for Teddy Sheringham appeared to delay Owen's arrival at the last World Cup and it does not take a genius to suspect that now he would be happier alongside Heskey than Owen.

Shearer might also be wondering what would happen if he stepped down and the Liverpool duo clicked against Portugal.

Suddenly Keegan would face a difficult prospect - either telling his skipper, the man he declared would be 'captain and centre forward', that he might have to settle for a place on the bench against Germany, or devastating one of the other two, with potential psychological effects further down the tournament line.

Last night, Keegan was adamant Shearer's case bore no similarities to his own in 1982, when a back injury restricted him to a cameo role in the World Cup in Spain. 'You can't compare Alan with what

happened to me then,' said the coach. 'Mine was a major problem. One day I was fit and then the next I was in bed and needed an epidural. Alan's problem is minor compared to that.'

Even so, the onus is on Shearer, more than ever before. As the captain, his responsibility is all- consuming and he must balance the possible repercussions for the whole of the England squad.

Should he tell Keegan he is ready and then break down on the pitch in Eindhoven, it would have a huge impact on the morale of the whole squad.

Shearer has always been the master of his own destiny, from the day he left his native North-East to join Southampton, to the moment he returned to Tyneside as the most expensive player in the world and on to his carefully-timed announcement that he was quitting England after the European Championship.

Today, however, he must take a wider view. It is not just Alan Shearer he must think about, but his country as well.

The plea is simple: Alan, be honest for England.