Sunday 18 January 2015 14:09, UK
Temporary Newcastle manager John Carver has said a decision on the full-time appointment of the manager's job is imminent.
Newcastle are still to appoint a permanent replacement for Alan Pardew, who left for Crystal Palace nearly three weeks ago, and Carver has openly spoken of his desire to land the job on a full-time basis.
However, Carver thinks the 2-1 home defeat by Southampton has ended any chances of him landing the role on a full-time basis.
Under Carver’s watch, Newcastle have taken just one point from four games.
I think the board need to do something about it, whether it’s me or somebody else, it’s been almost three weeks for this process now.
“Everybody's not sure about what’s going on and I think after tonight the decision will be made,” Carver told Sky Sports.
"I think the board need to do something about it, whether it’s me or somebody else, it’s been almost three weeks for this process now. I know for a fact they have been working hard behind the scenes and they’ve got to do something about it.
"We’ll be at the airport tomorrow for our training week (in Dubai) and I’ll wait for a phone call to have a conversation."
Asked whether he is now out of the running for the job, Carver said: "Absolutely. You’ve got to win football matches. Although we played well for 45 minutes against Burnley and Chelsea, unfortunately we didn’t quite have the cutting edge in the final third.
"I know I can do the job. I know the work we’ve done and the way we’ve played. We’ve come up against a side third in the Premier League so it’s no disgrace. I thought we dominated the game but we’ve just got to have more ambition in the final third."
Carver was left underwhelmed with the lack of cutting edge on show from his Newcastle side during the game but the temporary boss felt that referee Robert Madley should have pointed to the penalty spot in the closing minutes when Emmanuel Riviere’s shot appeared to strike Jose Fonte’s arm.
"When you've played football, you understand what is and what isn't a penalty," he said.
"If somebody's got their arms down by their sides and it hits their arms, you can say that they didn't mean it, but when you have an L-shape with your arm and it blatantly hits your hand, it's a penalty.
"Unfortunately sometimes big decisions like that can make a big difference to people's livelihoods and futures."
