WITH his Newcastle United side teetering on the brink of relegation to the Championship, John Carver has admitted today’s meeting with West Brom is the club’s biggest game since the 2009 defeat at Aston Villa that last sent them crashing into the second tier.

Newcastle head into the final three games of the season with a two-point gap currently separating them from the bottom three, but while Sunderland, Leicester, Hull and Aston Villa have all claimed a victory in the last few weeks, the Magpies have suffered a club-record eight defeats on the spin.

Their poor results have only been part of the wider chaos, with supporters continuing to protest against the ownership of Mike Ashley, Carver accusing one of his own players of getting deliberately sent off last weekend and skipper Fabricio Coloccini feeling the need to pen an open letter to the club’s disgruntled fanbase.

The general feeling on Tyneside is a mixture of anger and apathy, and can be compared to the mood that accompanied the club’s relegation in the 2008-09 season, when the Magpies tumbled into the Championship as they lost at Villa Park on the final day of the campaign.

That day is widely regarded as the darkest in Newcastle’s recent history, but Carver accepts that the next 24 hours could be every bit as catastrophic if they do not kick-start their survival push with a much-needed win.

“In my opinion, this is probably the biggest game since Aston Villa in the year we went down,” said the Magpies head coach. “That was the biggest for a long, long time, and this is up there with it.

“What we do have this time is two more cracks at the whip after this one, and it is in our hands. There has to be a response.

“We have to put all our differences aside. We know there are people not happy with the hierarchy. I know there are people not happy with me and with the players.

“We all know that, but let us put that aside. Get it out of the way, get safe, stay in the Premier League and then you can come for us – well, come for me.”

With Sunderland, who are currently 18th, facing a difficult run in that will see them travel to Everton, Arsenal and Chelsea as well as hosting a resurgent Leicester, there is a chance Newcastle could survive without claiming another point.

Even if they are overtaken by the sides below them, their run in looks reasonably inviting on paper, with today’s game against a West Brom side who are surely now safe preceding a trip to QPR and a final-day home match with a mid-table West Ham.

However, the club’s dreadful form and key omissions – Daryl Janmaat and Mike Williamson are both suspended this afternoon following their dismissals at the King Power Stadium – mean it would be dangerous to take anything for granted.

Recent performances hardly provide cause for optimism, but having accepted that it will be hard to feel comfortable unless his side claims another four points, Carver has expressed confidence that this week’s events will have brought his players together with a new sense of unity and purpose.

“Four points will make us safe, for certain,” he said. “I still think that’s the target, and they (the players) have shown me signs they want to address problems and do something about it now.

“The criticism they have had, and we have all had, some of it is deserved – a lot of it is deserved – but some of it is not. We, collectively, take responsibility, and what I will say is that they realise they have to react to it.”

West Brom stand in Newcastle’s way this afternoon, and Tony Pulis’ side displayed their resilience seven days ago as Jonas Olsson’s goal enabled them to claim a surprise 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

That was the Baggies’ third clean sheet in a row, and Carver accepts it will be hard to break down one of the best-drilled defences in the Premier League this afternoon.

“Man United had 70 per cent possession, but West Brom are effective at what they do and how they do it,” he said. “They’ve got to that 40-point mark, so I’m hoping they might just take their foot off the gas a little bit, but I very much doubt it with Tony because of the guy he is.

“He’ll want to win everything, like me. So we’ve got to have enough to try and break them down. There might be periods in the game where we’re not getting anywhere because they will drop deep and get bodies behind the ball, but we have to stay patient and not get caught on the counter.”