‘I deserve to stay in Newcastle hot seat,’ says John Carver after relegation escape
Magpies survive drop with 2-0 victory over West Ham, who say goodbye to manager Sam Allardyce
John Carver insists he deserves to continue as Newcastle manager after leading his beleaguered club to Premier League survival with a 2-0 win over West Ham on the final day of a torrid campaign.
Faced with the unpalatable prospect of relegation to the Championship if results went against them, the much-derided Carver and his under-performing players roused themselves to deliver a dominant performance that secured their first win in 11 matches.
There will be a big summer ahead and I want the chance to bring in new players and make this club better
But for all the relief-filled euphoria that engulfed St James’ Park on Sunday, Carver, who recently invited ridicule by claiming he is the best manager in the top-flight, will have noted that West Ham parted company with boss Sam Allardyce just minutes after the full-time whistle, even though the east London club finished eight points ahead of Newcastle.
And Carver, who has presided over a miserable run since replacing Alan Pardew in January, knows the upheaval at West Ham in the wake of Allardyce’s departure will be minor compared to the changes anticipated at Newcastle over the close-season.
Mike Ashley, the club’s billionaire owner, vowed before the game that he plans a significant investment in new players, but first they have to decide who will be leaving.
It is a lengthy list and Carver, who was only hired on an interim basis, waits to discover if he will be handed the opportunity to build on the momentum for Newcastle’s last-day survival.
