Newcastle United’s caretaker manager John Carver believes that he will be able to succeed in his role and get a permanent position at the club, but he places his hopes on the club providing him with much better players.
Newcastle are far from being consistent in the second half of the season and this is widely linked to the managerial ability of Carver. Alan Pardew was a Newcastle manager for four years and during this period he finished the season just outside the top four in the 2011-12 season. He managed to achieve this despite being on a limited budget.
Carver has no complaints about the players he has at his disposal, but in the huge number of injuries mean that he has had to put together a makeshift defence for matches against top teams. This coupled with the lack of a motivational factor for the players has resulted in the club winning just one out of the last five matches. Despite this, they remain a comfortable 10 points away from the relegation zone with eight matches left. Newcastle are almost certain to stay clear of relegation if they win another match. Carver has pointed out to the injuries to key players like Stephen Taylor, which has seen him use players out of position in the defence.
“We had Ryan Taylor, a natural midfielder, playing at right-back and he was left-back the week before. Daryl Janmaat, who is a natural right-back, was at centre half and was outstanding. Take all those injuries away and we have got 26 professionals. Now that is a decent-sized squad and under normal circumstances, that’s not a problem with three or four injuries. Five or six is pushing it, but not as many as that,” said Carver. The likes of Ajax manager Frank de Boer have been suggested as long-term replacements.