Interim chiefs change little, says Carver

JOHN Carver said he didn’t even try to change much at Newcastle United during his brief caretaker stints in charge.

The former Magpies assistant guided the Magpies to survival at the end of a chaotic season in 2015.

Carver, who is now part of Steve Clarke’s Scotland setup, was appointed interim boss when Alan Pardew quit the club to join Crystal Palace in January 2015.

As well as stating that he believed he was ‘the best coach in the Premier League’ at that time, he led the team on a 10-match winless run, with a nervy 2-0 victory over West Ham on the final day to ensure United stayed up.

But Carver said he did not change much after Pardew left, despite having the opportunity to take charge of his boyhood club.

“There’s a reason why you get [a caretaker] role,” he said.

“It’s either because the manager has been sacked or because the manager has had a better opportunity.

“Normally it’s because they’ve been fired because results haven’t been good enough. That group of players, the manager and the coaching staff have got into a bad position.

“People think, when you get a caretaker role, you’re going to do all these things differently, but you’re not.

“You were there as an assistant manager. When you’re training every day, when you’re preparing the team, it’s you and the manager with your ideas.

“There might be small little tweaks you might do, but in general, when the team is in the position they are in and people blame the manager, the staff have to take the blame as well, because we’ve got them into that position. You’re not going to do much different.”

That was actually Carver’s second stint as caretaker manager, with the first coming in 2004 after the sacking of Sir Bobby Robson.

He took charge of Newcastle’s 3-0 win over Blackburn Rovers but was then demoted to academy manager after Graeme Souness’ arrival.

“The first time at Newcastle there was no pressure whatsoever,” Carver told BBC Sport. “It was a free shot. It happened so fast and it was over so quickly that I didn’t have time to think about it.

“I went from a massive high one day to a massive low the next. You go from 52,500 screaming Geordies on the Saturday to sitting in an office in the role as academy director.”