Football
PA Sport 9y

Newcastle boss John Carver challenges TV pundits to try managing

John Carver has challenged television pundits to give management a go themselves before turning their fire on the men in the job.

The 50-year-old Newcastle head coach has found himself and his players in the firing line in recent weeks after a run of six successive Premier League defeats which has left them scrambling to keep themselves out of the fight against relegation.

Michael Owen, who had a largely unproductive spell as a player at St. James' Park, became the latest to weigh in when he predicted the club would not win another point this season, and Phil Neville and Jamie Carragher have both had their say too in recent weeks, much to Carver's annoyance.

He said: "I don't have a problem with anyone having an opinion. Where I have the problem is when there are people that have an opinion who have never been in this situation, never been in my situation.

"They have never had to sit here and pick a team when you have got so many injuries, suspensions, or dealing with situations on the training ground or having to deal with things coming from left-field that you think, 'Where's that come from?.'

"When I see someone like Peter Reid go on TV, who has been in this situation -- he has managed in this region, he understands what it feels like. When he starts to say things, I listen to what he says. I respect what he says.

"Let's not start a war here because I accept that the likes of Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher, whoever, have played hundreds of Premier League football matches, and I haven't. I understand that. I don't have an issue with that.

"But sometimes there has to be a little bit of sympathy with the people doing this job. When you have never gone in and put your little foot in the water and tested it, then it is a little different.

"There are a lot of people out there who don't do it because they can't do it. It is a difficult situation."

Former Newcastle boss Graeme Souness also falls into the category of men Carver will listen to, although he admits that has not always been the case.

He said with a smile: "I never listened to Graeme when I was Academy director, but what I will say is that he talks an awful lot of sense on the TV."

Carver is well aware that the best way to avoid criticism from the pundits is to get results, and Saturday's home clash with Swansea, which will once again be a focus for fans protesting about the way owner Mike Ashley is running the club, represents the next opportunity to do that.

There is at least some light at the end of the tunnel with midfielder Moussa Sissoko sitting out the final game of his suspension and Papiss Cisse a match behind him, while £6 million summer signing Siem de Jong will return to the squad this weekend for the first time in almost eight months.

The Holland international has made two appearances for the club's under-21s after recovering from surgery to repair a collapsed lung, and is finally in a position to show what he can do with just three senior games under his belt to date.

Carver said: "Siem has not played a Premier League game yet, but what he has got is such a sharp brain. He is technically very good and we can put him in to a system where he might not put in the ground-work, but we could fit a team around him.

"You need a creative player in there to win games. He just needs to overcome that psychological hurdle of getting 90 minutes under his belt. But he will certainly be on the bench and he will be in my thoughts for 15-20 minutes on Saturday."

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