JOHN Carver has revealed how a Newcastle United supporting white van man left him feeling like he had received a ‘pot of gold’ just a couple of days after the strains of the job were highlighted by his run-in with a few fans at St James’ Park.

Two of the supporters he had a verbal exchange with during last Saturday’s defeat to Swansea City were invited to the training ground yesterday for an insight into Carver’s daily routines and problems he has to deal with.

Newcastle’s head coach was keen to hear what the disgruntled pair had to say having had an ear-bashing from them seven days ago, but crowd abuse has not put him off wanting to stay in the role on a full-time basis.

And on his way into the training HQ a couple of days later, Carver was given the perfect lift to remind him why he is so keen to be a success.

He said: “When you set off on the ladder, you say to yourself, who do you want to be? Where do you want to go? You set targets all the time and I always said I want to be manager of this football club because of what it means to me. When you get that opportunity you have got to try to take it.

“By hook or by crook, I want this and I want to make a go of it. I hear people say I might end up stir crazy but I am not bothered. I want to have a go. The amount of people who have been on to me, behind me, supporting me has been incredible.

“I was driving in on Monday morning, on my own, feeling sorry for myself as you do in the car, not listening to the sport but the pop music.

“I stopped at the lights at Forest Hall and could feel someone pulling up alongside. I could feel the guy looking at me. He edged further forward and I thought ‘oh, I have got to look’ even though I was feeling a bit low. I looked and suddenly he just indicated to me to keep my chin up and behind him, his mate did exactly the same.

“I got quite emotional in the car but then I had a bit of a giggle to myself because those two had actually picked me up with their actions. What they did, because they are one of us and I am one of them, what they did meant so much to me. I drove on to the training ground and you would think someone had just given me a pot of gold - seriously, that is how I felt.”

The ups and downs of a Premier League manager were further reflected this week at Leicester, where Newcastle travel today and a defeat could leave them in serious relegation trouble.

Nigel Pearson, the former Newcastle coach, had to apologise for asking a journalist if he was an ‘ostrich’ during a bizarre rant having been asked to expand on the unfair criticism he felt his team had received. That arrived after a defeat to Chelsea, which brought an end to a four-match winning run.

Carver said: "There is huge pressure on every single manager. He has shown a little bit of frustration losing to the champions when they did extremely well for 45 minutes. It has all just come to a head. But the pressure in this position is massive. Let me tell you, the top six clubs you have pressure and after that, this club is on a par in terms of pressure.”

Since taking over from Alan Pardew at the end of December, Carver claims to have lost a stone in weight but the effects have not altered his desire to stay on as Newcastle head coach and prove he can deliver.

“I'll be totally honest I love the whole thing, the whole job,” he said. “You’ll be thinking I'm crazy but I actually do. There's down times when you do feel low but luckily I've got my golf because no one can shout at me or argue with me.

“It just gives you a chance to think, calm yourself down. I love coaching, that's where I get my enjoyment. Some managers when they move up stop coaching but I couldn't do that, coaching's my release, that's where I get my enjoyment, my fun. Sometimes I get my frustrations out on the training ground then I'm OK when I have my lunch. "

If Newcastle can end that seven-match losing streak today they will have taken a huge step towards securing a place in the Premier League next season.

And Carver would love to have a full summer in charge to show everyone next season how is has the attributes to b a success.

He said: “Let’s be honest, we did not get off to a great start at the start of the season and that was with the better players in the team. Then we had that great run and now we have had this dip.

“As far as I am concerned, I want the opportunity to be able to bring in players I will have an influence on and be part of the process. If I did not think that way, I would be wasting my time.

“When I first took this job, people asked me ‘what are you going to do differently? How are you going to stamp your authority on the team?’ It is very difficult when you’ve had that same group for some time. That’s why they are going to freshen it up (in the summer).

“I see this as an opportunity. What I’m saying is ‘give me an opportunity, give me a chance’. If I’m not successful after having my opportunity to have an influence on who comes in and do it my way, then I will say ‘you know what, this is not for me, I’m not up to it, I’m not good enough to do the job’.

“I’ll be honest enough to say that. As it stands at the moment I am giving it everything, working in the constraints that I’ve got. That’s the most frustration I’ve got within myself. I genuinely do feel any manager would have struggled to get a better points tally in these circumstances.”