JOHN CARVER thinks Newcastle United’s loans to Rangers are ready for first team football north of the border, even if the interim boss did admit he would not accept being told what team to pick by the boardroom at St James’ Park.

The Magpies have been at the heart of controversy in Glasgow this week after Gers’ boss Kenny McDowall claimed he had been ordered to play five deadline day signings from Tyneside.

And the debate has raged around Ibrox ever since, even though Derek Llambias, the former Newcastle managing director now operating as chief executive at Rangers, has dismissed suggestions that he has insisted Haris Vuckic, Gael Bigirimana, Remi Streete, Shane Ferguson and Kevin Mbabu must play if they are fit.

Carver, who stated that he was unaware of any clause in the deals stipulating such an agreement was in place, was adamant he is not working to such guidelines under owner Mike Ashley and managing director Lee Charnley at Newcastle.

"Let me tell you, I am definitely not that kind of person,” said Carver, when asked if he was a ‘yes man’. “The conversations I've had with the club have been honest and frank and straight about the team.

“Obviously I've got to give my opinions about individuals and I'll give my honest opinion about what I think. What I won't have is anybody telling me, for example, what team to pick. 'Should you not pick him ahead of him?' I won't have that and I won't stand for that. As soon as that situation ... If that situation started to develop then I would stop it straightaway.”

There is a perception among sections of supporters that Carver would be willing to just accept instructions from the boardroom because he is desperate to succeed Alan Pardew on a full-time-basis.

He said: “I'd confront the situation and say 'look, this isn't right'. I'm quite happy to work under the parameters of being the head coach, organising the team, running the team and picking the team. I'm happy with that. But once we go into the realms of other people telling me which team to play and all that, that's not the realm of the head coach.

“In fairness, myself and Lee have a good understanding on that because we both made it quite clear at one of our first meetings when we sat down and discussed it. I can guarantee to people out there that I'm definitely not going to be a yes man. I'm going to be myself.

“I'm going to do it the way I want to do it. If I'm successful then great. If I'm not, at least I can say at the end of the day that I did it my way and then I've got nobody else to blame.”

Carver was not directly commenting on what McDowall had Llambias had said, but was aware of it. What he was keen to stress, though, was his belief that the players are ready to make an impact on the Scottish Championship. Both Bigirimana and Vuckic could face Raith Rovers today.

“If they go up there and aren't good enough to get into the team that's our problem,” said Carver. “When you go to Scotland it isn't for a month or two it has to be until the end of the season. That's how it works, cross border. They can't just go up there and expect to go straight into the team.

“It's like anywhere. They've got to be good enough to earn the right, but I think they're ready for it, definitely.

“Shane Ferguson is still down here and injured but he's played about 20 games for Northern Ireland who are doing really well in the Euros. Vuckic has been on loan. There's only Kevin who really had no experience. He's got to sink or swim but it's an opportunity to start developing his career.

“They are all ready because I've had Scottish Premier League sides in for four of the players.”

Carver, the head coach, insisted he had a say in whether the five youngsters should spend the rest of the season on loan in Scotland. He was also vehement that he was happy for the transfer window to pass on Monday without adding a new striker or centre-back, despite losing Davide Santon to Inter Milan.

He said: "You do have a little bit of an influence as head coach. Lee (Charnley) isn't going to be saying to me, ‘you know what, you need a centre-forward'. That's my role. My role is to say to Lee, 'I think we need a centre-half'. His role then, along with Graham Carr (chief scout) and the other people behind the scenes is to bring me a centre-half that will be good enough to fit into how we play and the style of play.”

He added: “I had a group of players there I knew we could work with and who could get us to the end of the season. And that was very important. If we had been really short of players then that might have been a different situation.

“We've lost a player because he couldn't fit in, because we had too many players to fit into the team. I was right behind the decisions to send Davide and the lads to Rangers.”