JOHN CARVER refused to blame fans for protesting after Newcastle United suffered a sixth straight defeat which has left the head coach admitting: ‘We are in a relegation fight’.

The Magpies, 14th in the Premier League, are just seven points above the relegation zone and have played a game more than three of the teams below ahead of their final five fixtures.

The situation took a turn for the worse when Newcastle lost 3-1 at home to Tottenham, in front of St James’ Park’s lowest league crowd of the season after thousands of fans heeded a call to boycott the match.

And while the biggest league crowd in the country over the weekend was still officially recorded, the situation from a purely football perspective shows no signs of improvement.

Carver, who had hoped to impress and stay in the job beyond this season, said: “We are in amongst it. We have sides like Leicester who are winning games and we aren’t winning. We have to find a way to find some points.

“People are sitting in their seats and they want something to spark a reaction and don’t get it. This is the most difficult situation I’ve ever been in, but I’m a fighter and I’m not going to shirk anything.

“We will take the stick and the responsibility because that’s the type of person I am. I’m not going to give up on it and I have enough experience to deal with the situation.

“It’s not getting any easier but this job is never easy I’m disappointed and angry and have lots of different emotions going through my head. The bottom line is it’s another defeat and not good enough.’’

Newcastle went behind when Nacer Chadli stroked from 25-yards after half an hour.

Jack Colback provided hope seconds after half-time when he levelled, only for Christian Eriksen’s free-kick to curl in seven minutes later.

After that Tottenham never looked in any danger and, when Newcastle pressed late on, Harry Kane broke away for the crucial third.

But Carver wouldn’t blame the fans who decided to protest against owner Mike Ashley outside St James’ Park before and after the game.

He said: “Possibly not helpful, but they are entitled to do what they want. I don’t think that has affected what has gone on, on the pitch. The players are all professional and it shouldn’t affect them. There are no excuses. We lost because we weren’t good enough.

“You could see the nerves and tension on the pitch and it showed in the first half performance when there was a lot of huff and puff, but that’s about all. We conceded a poor goal and faced an uphill battle.

“There was a subdued atmosphere which I’ve experienced before and it’s not easy to deal with. I have to come up with the solution and try to find a method to play that gets results and points. People might not like what they see but I have to do it.”

There were 3,000 Tottenham fans among the 47, 427 crowd officially announced, although the large numbers of empty grey seats led to claims that there might have been less present.

The whole situation, with fans in dispute with the club’s ownership, led to Sky Sports’ pundit Jamie Carragher suggesting that Ashley has turned Newcastle into a ‘boring club’.

Carragher did not hold back when he was asked if he understood the fans’ frustrations.

The former Liverpool defender said: “I can. It’s getting to the stage now, football is so big, there’s that much money coming in to the game with the new TV deal, and I am sick of owners coming in who are successful business people wherever they’ve been. They think ‘where else can I make money? Oh a football club’.

“I’ve had it at my own club Liverpool with George Gillett and Tom Hicks and it’s the same at Newcastle. People will say as supporters you’ve got to come back, you’ve got to get behind your team. But what are the owners doing for supporters?

“Since Mike Ashley’s been here they’ve been relegated once, they could be relegated once again, and I’m sure under Alan Pardew they come close once before.

“So he’s balanced the books - he’s made money because he’s a businessman - but I think of these people and wonder: ‘don’t you want to be excited yourself?’

“I’m getting bored by Newcastle, but when you watched them over the years there was madness, there was excitement, stupid goals going in one end and then the other, but it was exciting.

“Now it’s boring. Why does Mike Ashley want the club if there’s nothing happening? There’s no cup run, I just don’t get it. I don’t get why he wants to own a football club.”