Carver: I'd take charge 'my way'
John Carver is adamant he is his own man as he bids to step out of Alan Pardew's shadow and take over in the Newcastle hot-seat.
Carver, who celebrates his 50th birthday on Friday, has been accused of following studiously in Pardew's footsteps after being placed in charge of team affairs for the last three games with the Magpies' hierarchy looking for a new head coach.
The former Newcastle trainee has made no secret of his desire to be considered for the vacancy in his own right, and with no decision imminently in the offing, he is hoping to state his case both on and off the pitch.
Asked if he was his own man, Carver said: "Absolutely.
"It's really funny because when I was managing in Toronto, one of the reasons why I came back was because I was trying to do it my way as in I was head coach looking after the football side of it, trying to progress the technical side and the match analysis, and unfortunately they weren't moving as quickly as I wanted them to, and I got very frustrated.
"I will do it my way because I think that's best."
Carver is hoping for a series of fitness boosts for this weekend's game against Southampton.
Midfielders Mehdi Abeid (foot), Siem de Jong and Gabriel Obertan (both thigh) and Rolando Aarons (hamstring) are all on the comeback trail, although none are expected to make the squad.
Jonas Gutierrez's continues his battle for fitness after recovering from testicular cancer, while goalkeepers Rob Elliot (thigh) and Jak Alnwick (shoulder), defender Steven Taylor (Achilles), utility man Ryan Taylor (knee) and striker Adam Armstrong (foot) are still out, while Cheick Tiote and Papiss Cisse are away on African Nations Cup duty.
Victor Wanyama, Morgan Schneiderlin and Toby Alderweireld are amongst those missing when Southampton return to Premier League action.
Wanyama will miss up to five weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Wednesday's FA Cup third-round replay at Ipswich - a match fellow defensive midfielder Schneiderlin missed with an adductor strain, which also rules him out of the St James' Park trip.
Alderweireld is sidelined with a hamstring strain, seeing him join Sam Gallagher and Jay Rodriguez in the treatment room, while Maya Yoshida, Sadio Mane and Emmanuel Mayuka have international commitments.
Ronald Koeman is not wasting time and energy fretting about Southampton's mounting injury problems, although his frustration with the fixture scheduling is clear.
Saints are in their best-ever position at this stage of a Premier League season, with the impressive win at Manchester United meaning they enter the weekend sat third.
Wednesday's win at Ipswich also means they remain in the FA Cup, although these victories have come at a cost with multiple injuries.
Wanyama's setback has been particularly frustrating for Koeman, with the Kenya midfielder facing a month out with a hamstring injury sustained during the third-round replay at Portman Road - a match the Dutchman sees no need for.
"I don't put too much energy in that problem [of injuries] because you can't do anything about that," Koeman said.
"You can always look to what you are doing in the training sessions and how we recover the players, but we haven't trained in the last few weeks because we played so much.
"It's a problem with the schedule that the players have during what normally has to be a winter break.
"We have to play. Another replay? Come on, please, play the FA Cup with extra time and penalties. Why a replay? Another game - it's crazy."
Source: PA
