Former Newcastle United caretaker manager John Carver has criticised the club for not signing a defender in January, as they bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
The Geordies are currently sat 19th in the league, three points adrift of safety and a point behind 18th placed north-east rivals Sunderland, after Aleksandar Mitrovic rescued a late point in the Tyne-Wear derby.
Having spent £29m in the winter transfer window – more than any other side in Europe – on the likes of Andros Townsend and Jonjo Shelvey, Carver, speaking on Goals on Sunday, as reported by the Chronicle Live, claimed that Steve McClaren should have brought in some defensive reinforcements.
(It was) one of the biggest disappointments for the fans, and me as a member of the staff. It’s been there not just one or two years – it’s been there for a long time. I was very surprised we didn’t bring in at least one, maybe two centre-backs.
You know what it’s like, there’s a budget there and players were available. They spent the money on attacking midfielders because they felt they weren’t creating enough goals or scoring enough chances.
I think there’s enough there defensively when everyone’s fit but we were struggling to create and score goals. So that’s the reason why they spent on that. I think they overspent their budget for the season, so they’ve taken a bit of a gamble on that. But certainly at the start of the season they should have signed a centre-back.
Newcastle have just eight games to avoid relegation as they scrap with the likes of Aston Villa, Norwich City, Sunderland and Crystal Palace for survival. Their next fixture is against the Canaries at Carrow Road.
