JOHN CARVER admits Newcastle United could have to reassess their January spending plans in light of Steven Taylor being ruled out for the rest of the season with a damaged Achilles.

It had been anticipated that Newcastle would not be signing anyone this month, with Mike Ashley’s refusal to loosen the purse strings understood to have played a role in Alan Pardew’s decision to join Crystal Palace, a move that was finally rubber-stamped yesterday.

Carver, who will resume his caretaker duties when Newcastle travel to Leicester City in the third round of the FA Cup this afternoon, will not have any direct input into the recruitment process, but his opinion is likely to be sought after Taylor damaged his Achilles in Thursday’s 3-3 draw with Burnley.

With the defender unlikely to play again this season, and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa’s season-long loan at Roma not believed to contain a recall clause, Newcastle find themselves with just Fabricio Coloccini and Mike Williamson, both of whom are out of form, and Paul Dummett, who has spent most of his time at full-back, as their only centre-half options.

That could force Ashley to enter the transfer market, although the fact that summer signing Jamaal Lascelles is due to join Newcastle’s squad at the end of the season following his loan to Nottingham Forest is another factor that will be considered.

“It’s something the club will have to look at,” said Carver, who remains among the leading candidates to succeed Pardew on a permanent basis. “To be honest, we’ve only really just found out about Steven Taylor, but we do not have a boatload of centre-halves.

“It’s not something that has really crossed my mind because as soon as the full-time whistle went (against Burnley), I had to try to get myself ready for the cup game. It is not something I am too bothered about, but there will probably have to be discussions.”

Taylor would almost certainly have started today’s game at the King Power Stadium had he not been forced onto crutches on Thursday, and his absence compounds Carver’s problems as he looks to assemble a side capable of taking Newcastle into the fourth round of the FA Cup for only the second time in five seasons.

The club’s miserable cup record was one of the key factors that turned the St James’ Park crowd against Pardew, with the former boss having meekly acquiesced to his board’s insistence that knockout football was not to be prioritised.

Time and time again, FA Cup third-round day saw Newcastle field a weakened line-up, but while Carver will have a number of big names missing this afternoon, he insists it will be circumstance rather than any pre-agreed policy that dictates his team selection.

“We are getting close to struggling to try to get 18 players fit and available to travel,” he said. “I need to see what we have available and I will pick my strongest available side from there, but I have three or four players who are carrying things and that is obviously an issue.

“I have not been told anything (in terms of how to treat the cup competitions), but I’ve got to be honest and say we might not have any options when we see who is available.”

Carver was part of Ruud Gullit’s backroom staff when the Dutchman led Newcastle to the FA Cup final in 1999, and the boyhood Magpies fan regards the experience as one of the highlights of his footballing career.

Twelve months earlier, he had been sitting among the Newcastle fans as Kenny Dalglish’s side lost 2-0 to Arsenal, and while Pardew was repeatedly accused of not understanding the Tyneside club’s historic relationship with the FA Cup, Carver insists he is fully aware of what the competition means to the club’s supporters.

Third-round defeats to Stevenage, Brighton and Cardiff have proved an embarrassment in recent seasons, and while Ashley and managing director, Lee Charnley, would hardly be perturbed by another early exit, Carver is determined to extend Newcastle’s interest in this season’s competition, even if someone else could ultimately benefit from the fruits of his work.

“Four years ago, I was in Tenerife watching the game against Stevenage, and let me tell you, I was really disappointed,” he said. “And I’d had a few beers as well.

“Listen, there’s been an awful lot made about cup runs, so let me say this – I want to win every game I go into, so I’ll be putting the best team on the pitch I possibly can to win the game.

“I know exactly how much it means to the fans to have a cup run because I’m one of them. I’ve been to a cup final and semi-final, and I’ll never forget that reception. Although we lost to Manchester United, when we came out of the tunnel at Wembley and our fans were behind the tunnel, it was really emotional.

“I know exactly what it means. I’ve actually been in the stands when we lost to Arsenal, so I know what it’s like and how important it is. So to get back there is one of the most important things in my eyes.”