LOUIS VAN GAAL spoke of his need for a 20-goal a season striker last week – in Papiss Cisse, Newcastle have just the man, believes John Carver.

Cisse has found the net once every 84 minutes this season, and his 11 goals have fired him to joint-sixth in the Premier League top scorer table. Carver feels that if Cisse can maintain his form until the end of the season, the Senegalese striker can become the first Newcastle United player to hit more than 20 goals in a season since Alan Shearer in 2003-4.

"He's on 11 goals now, and we've got 11 games left. If he keeps scoring every 84th minute, yes we have,” said Carver, whose Magpies side host Manchester United tonight.

"He's a typical striker where he had that exceptional season and everything he hit hit the net. The following season he found it tough.

"He picked up this injury and then went to the African Nations. It's been a bit stop-start.

"But he's a pleasure to work with every day. He's always smiling. He's always enjoying what he does. He wants to get better and better, which is great.

"He shows so much enthusiasm, it's easy for me to work with him.

"We've got to get the service to him. Because he's had the African Nations and the problem with his knee, people might have gone off him, but we have never gone off him.

"We've stayed with him. I wanted him to stay and the club kept him, which was great.”

Van Gaal’s argument that his side lacks a goalscorer is flawed, in that Wayne Rooney has filled that role for United in the past, and is on course to hit 20 having scored twice against Sunderland at the weekend.

But it could have been a different outcome for the former Everton man, had Newcastle succeeded in a bid for Rooney in 2004 when Sir Bobby Robson was manager.

"I was flabbergasted. Freddy Shepherd showed me the letter they put together,” said Carver, who was assistant manager at the time of the bid. "It was a genuine attempt to get him. We were definitely after him, but the figures were just a bit too much for us.”

At the time of Newcastle’s interest, the Magpies were still a Champions League side, having had a run at the title – their last serious effort – in 2003 under Robson.

It was another memorable battle with United, having thrown away a 12-point lead over the Red Devils in 1995-96 under Kevin Keegan. For many Newcastle fans, it was a rivalry with United only second to their grudge matches with Sunderland.

“There has been a healthy rivalry between the two clubs,” agreed Carver. “There have been some fantastic games. We all remember the Keegan incident with Sir Alex. I was at Elland Road that night when it happened and I was watching it on the big screen.

“I went upstairs afterwards and I was watching it and it was one of the nicest but strangest moments in football, seeing Kevin react. And I think that is what brought about this rivalry between the two clubs. It is a game I always used to look out for when the fixture list came out. You’d think ‘I can’t wait for them to come to St James.

“[1996] was the closest we’ve ever been. We were in touching distance of winning the Premier League and we didn’t. But, through no fault of Kevin’s or anybody’s, they had to for it and they couldn’t do it in the end.

“I remember going into that last game against Spurs and we still thought ‘we are going to win this’. We still had it in our hands and the disappointment we didn’t was devastating.”

Keegan’s achievements with Newcastle in the 1990s has cast a shadow over his successors, and Carver admits that his, and Robson’s, shoes are big ones to fill.

“We got close under Sir Bobby’s team, but not at the same level,” said Carver. “They were different types of players and a different way of playing. Even when Bob was manager, it was still there in the distance.

“If you finished third, fourth or fifth that wasn’t a bad situation but it still wasn’t good enough because Kevin finished second.”

NEWCASTLE: Krul; Janmaat, Williamson, Coloccini, Taylor; Obertan, Sissoko, Abeid, Ameobi; Cisse, Riviere.