Newcastle United manager John Carver insists his side can come out on top against Manchester United when the sides meet on Wednesday night, despite the Magpies’ struggles since he took over the St James’ Park hotseat in January.
“We looked at their record away from home and it is not great,” says Carver. “They have some super players going forward but they are vulnerable in certain areas and hopefully we can exploit that. You have to find a way of upsetting them.”
Carver thinks the Reds' changing style may have frustrated some supporters – but adds that it makes them hard to beat. “[The Manchester United fans] have seen how entertaining they have been, and now it has changed slightly, because the manager [Louis van Gaal] has come in, and he’s got a different style. I can see why fans are getting a little bit frustrated with it.
“The principles are the same - keep possession, get the ball into wide areas and get the ball in the box. It’s a patient build-up with lots of possession, and lots of systems which can sometimes be confusing. We have to find a different way of breaking them down, but we’ve worked on that. We understand how we can do that.”
Carver's cause could be hampered by the Magpies' plague of injuries, however. “You have sleepless nights,” says Carver. “A lot of bodies have been unavailable. The team has almost picked itself. We have got four knee injuries which is very unusual and a collapsed lung. It’s something that we can’t do anything about.”
