Former Newcastle United head coach John Carver has admitted that his time in charge was a difficult period in his career.
The 50-year-old was appointed in January following the departure of Alan Pardew to Crystal Palace and oversaw a club-record sequence of eight successive Premier League defeats under his watch as the team narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League.
However, Carver has claimed that he could have received more support from the Newcastle hierarchy during his time in charge.
"My biggest disappointment was that I never had a penny (to spend). I lost two players – (Davide) Santon and (Mapou) Yanga-Mbiwa, which I agreed with – but I would have loved to have had £50m to spend. Perhaps then people could have judged me," he told the Newcastle Evening Chronicle.
"If you look at last season, I was the only spokesman in the football club. That in itself is a difficult situation. I got rolled out in front of the press and I had to answer all the questions. I answered them with all honesty.
"It was a learning curve, of course it was. I picked up a few scars during that five months, but I learnt so much. I'm not that narrow-minded to think I was above everyone."
Carver left Newcastle over the summer and was replaced by Steve McClaren.
Steven Toplis
