Carver: Luck not on our side

Posted Saturday, April 25, 2015 by Foxsports.com

Newcastle head coach John Carver has bemoaned his lack of good fortune as he attempts to end a run of six straight Premier League defeats.

Carver is hoping for a change of luck when Swansea visit St James' Park at the weekend after the recent slump left his side just seven points clear of the relegation zone.

"This is a bad time at the moment," he said. "I can't wait for the good time. I'm really going to enjoy myself, because I have had everything go against me.

"But when you have faith in your own ability, then nothing fazes you. It's hard picking yourself up after the run of games we've had, but if I was going to give up on it, then it's a waste of time sitting here now. If I didn't think I could do it, I'd walk away now, but that's not the case."

Victory on Saturday will all-but secure the club's top-flight status for next season and Carver is looking forward to marking the feat.

"I'm definitely going to celebrate with a pot of tea if we win," said the 50-year-old.

"We need to win. It's so important for everybody, and it might lift a bit of a gloomy situation over the city at the moment because we know it affects everybody when they go to work.

"When you go to work after a win, you're in a better mood, so whatever business you're in, it makes you work that bit harder and you get more profits. We need to do that. We need to win football matches to give everybody a huge lift."

Carver has been boosted by the return to action of Dutch midfielder Siem de Jong who played over an hour of an U21 match against Aston Villa on Tuesday.

De Jong has been out since last August after being laid low with a collapsed lung and he could be joined in the matchday squad by fellow-midfielder Jonas Gutierrez despite his training-ground disagreement with Carver.