John Carver is hoping the tide of fury threatening to engulf Newcastle this weekend does not detract from his efforts to resurrect a dying season.
The Magpies are bracing themselves for whatever comes their way on Sunday afternoon when Tottenham arrive at St James' Park amid planned protests over the way owner Mike Ashley is running the club with a social media campaign to persuade supporters to boycott the game ongoing.
How effective that proves to be remains to be seen, but the atmosphere is reminiscent of the situation into which Alan Pardew walked in May last year when disgruntled fans turned on the then manager before, during and after a 3-0 home victory over Cardiff.
Pardew largely confined himself to the bench as his assistant Carver prowled the technical area on an afternoon when his boss's every appearance was greeted by concerted booing, and the 50-year-old is keeping his fingers crossed for a less febrile atmosphere this time around.
Carver said: "It was one of the strangest atmospheres I've ever experienced, but we got there in the end. I hope it won't be as difficult an atmosphere this time. I don't think it will be, I think it will be a different type of protest.
"The fact that people are staying away, the people who come into the stadium will be behind the team because they understand where we are and everyone will be in it together."
The ire of fans has been raised to such proportions by a perceived lack of ambition which has seen the club free-wheel towards the end of the season having opted neither to find a permanent replacement for Pardew after he jumped ship for Crystal Palace nor address the deficiencies within a dangerously thin squad when they had the chance in January.
But more fundamentally, the widespread belief that Ashley is more concerned with cash than on-field success -- figures released this week that the club had banked more than £34 million in addition to making profits of £18.7 million during the last financial year -- has fermented opposition to the point of rebellion.
Carver, who has replaced Pardew as Newcastle's public face, insists he has been assured by managing director Lee Charnley there is an acceptance within the corridors of St James' that significant investment is required and that it will be forthcoming this summer.
He said: "I don't know anything about any figures -- I'm not an accountant. But it's going to be a decent amount of money. It has to be.
"What we want is quality, we need quality in key areas. If it's four, five, six... I really don't know. Without going into too much detail, I think we all know which areas.
"We all realise we are all in this together. Lee has said, 'We've left you a little bit short'. They realise the situation I'm in and they realise that it's a difficult one, and that's why I'm convinced they are going to have to invest.
"Whether it was me or whether it was Sir Alex [Ferguson] doing this job, they would need investment."
In the meantime, Carver, who has designs on the job on a permanent basis, will battle on in the face of concerted criticism, but buoyed by support from allies within the game.
He said: "I've had a million people on the phone offering me support, texts -- Reidy [former Sunderland boss Peter Reid] has been on, [former Newcastle chairman] Freddy Shepherd has been on, [Alan] Shearer has been on, Steve Clarke at Reading.
"I'm not kidding, there have been hundreds of people, people who actually know me and know what I'm about and how I work.
"Pards has been on -- I speak to him because he's my mate and he's on quite a bit. Honestly, my phone has never stopped.
"They all understand, they are all involved in the game. They understand the situation I'm in. In fairness, it's people like that who pick you up and keep you going."