John Carver claims that Newcastle United's perilous Premier League position and dreadful form has nothing to do with his management - and it is merely all down to plain old "bad luck". The Magpies have failed to win any of their last nine matches, including losing eight successive Premier League games for the first time in their history before securing a 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion last weekend, and they sit just two points and one position above 18th-placed Hull City. Newcastle have been plummeting down the table in recent months even though by the end of February they had secured 35 points and were miles from the relegation zone. And, despite Carver having won just two matches since taking over from Alan Pardew at the turn of the year, he has refused to accept it has been down to his own mismanagement. Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Magpies trip to already-relegated Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, Carver said:
"I will say this again, because of the circumstances, I would love to see how anyone else would react. "I spoke to Tony Pulis after the game, and he said it was quite incredible what I'd had to put up with regarding injuries and suspensions. "That is bad luck - it's not mismanagement by the club. I had enough players. At one stage I had a full team missing. Our squad of 26 is not a bad size - not many people have 11 players missing at once."
Some may argue that allowing several players to be stupidly dismissed - including Fabricio Coloccini, Moussa Sissoko, Mike Williamson and Daryl Janmaat - in recent months or by rushing players back from injury, such as Siem de Jong, represents poor management, but Carver clearly disagrees. The self-professed "best coach in the Premier League" - a quote partially taken out of context which Carver says was a "tongue-in-cheek" comment - needs to lead his side to a victory at QPR, because at least then he is unlikely to have been interim head coach for a side who were relegated from the top flight. For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow WhatCultureNUFC on Twitter and Facebook.