JOHN CARVER has claimed he is the “best coach in the Premier League” and admitted he made a string of controversial comments in the wake of last weekend’s 3-0 defeat at Leicester in an attempt to provoke a reaction from his relegation-threatened squad.

Carver, who has overseen a club-record run of eight successive defeats, has been charged with guiding Newcastle United to safety in the final three games of the season despite a chaotic few days that saw Derby County boss Steve McClaren reject an offer to take over at St James’ Park.

Carver was involved in a disastrous afternoon at the King Power Stadium last Saturday, accusing Mike Williamson of getting himself sent off on purpose in his side’s 3-0 defeat and conceding that his players “might not be listening to him” any more.

With Newcastle now just two points clear of the relegation zone, tomorrow’s home game with West Brom has assumed huge importance, but while his employers were clearly considering a change of head coach when they approached McClaren, Carver retains supreme confidence in his own ability.

“I have not lost my self belief,” he said. “I still feel I am the best coach around. I still think I’m the best coach in the Premier League - that’s what I think.

“I tell you, I ain’t lost my belief, and the day I lose my belief is the day I will do something totally different. I will walk away from it or retire because I would be wasting my time if I lost that.

“I’ve got to deal with this. What have I got to do? Crawl up into a ball and not take the challenge on? No, no.

“Let me tell you now, all this rubbish about me being fired, resigning, stepping aside, walking away – complete and utter rubbish. I had a healthy conversation with Lee Charnley and I got the backing from Mike Ashley. He (Charnley) never asked me to resign.”

Carver’s position became increasingly insecure in the wake of Saturday’s defeat when he publicly accused Williamson of “taking the easy way out” by fouling Jamie Vardy to earn a second yellow card that will keep him out of tomorrow’s game with West Brom and the following weekend’s trip to QPR.

He then conceded that his players “might not be listening any more”, an admission that led some to conclude that he would be removed from his position ahead of the three-game run in.

That has not happened, and after a series of clear-the-air meetings on Monday morning – some of which involved Carver and his backroom staff, and some of which did not – the former assistant has been delighted with his players’ response to a series of events he claims were more calculated than some might assume.

“I’m trying to get something,” he said. “I talk about having a strategy and finding a way of winning a football match. I’ve got to try to get something out of them.

“When somebody provokes me, it makes me even more determined. That’s me as a person. So I’m trying to do that to some of the players to get a reaction.

“There’s nothing personal in any of it. I sat with Mike and we had a good discussion. It was excellent, two way. The week before it was Jonas, the same thing. You sometimes have to do things to stir the hornets’ nest.”

If nothing else, Carver’s words certainly provoked a reaction from Fabricio Coloccini, and while the captain’s open letter on Monday evening has been derided in some quarters as a piece of transparent PR, his boss brandished a piece of paper at his press conference to prove their authenticity.

“I have brought the letter with me,” he said. “In his handwriting, in Spanish - that’s the letter there, signed by Colo at the bottom. This was the third draft he put together because of his grammar.  That is the genuine letter, from his heart. The fact he wrote that letter proves to me he is up for the fight.”

With Williamson and Daryl Janmaat suspended, Carver remains uncertain whether Paul Dummett will be available to partner Coloccini at the heart of the back four tomorrow. Dummett has had a scan on his injured hamstrings, and if he fails to make it, Newcastle will have to field Ryan Taylor, Lubomir Satka or Jamie Sterry at centre-half.

“Dummett is doing some work, but he’s not trained all week,” said Carver. “He had a scan (on Wednesday) and we are waiting for the results on that. We will have to see how he is.”

Siem de Jong will definitely play no part against the Baggies, but Papiss Cisse, who is available again after a seven-match suspension that also saw him receive treatment for a knee injury, and Rolando Aarons, who played 45 minutes for the reserves earlier this week, are both set to be on the substitutes’ bench.

“Siem has unfortunately got an issue with his thigh and he has not done a great deal of training this week,” said Carver. “He is another one who has gone for a scan. He has got a problem there - he won’t be available this weekend.

“It’s great to have Papiss back on the training ground. He trained with us for the first time (yesterday) and that big smile of his was great. But let’s not get carried away here, he has only trained once with us in seven weeks.

“Rolando is in a good position, but whether he will be involved this weekend, I’ll have to see again. Even Adam Armstrong has come in (yesterday) with a tight calf so we have got one or two things where we will have to wait until the last minute.”