Newcastle manager John Carver stands by 'best manager' comments

John Carver says his comment that he is the best coach in the Premier League was made "tongue in cheek".

The Newcastle United manager offered the assessment of his capabilities in the build-up to last Saturday's game against West Brom.

The 1-1 draw the Magpies secured in that match ended a run of eight successive defeats, which made Carver's claim all the more remarkable.

But he has since stated that it was made to motivate himself and others at the club, who remain just two points outside of the relegation places with two games left to play.

"No, I don't regret it because I'm the best golfer and the best cricketer in the world as well," Carver told Sky Sports News HQ.

"Sometimes you say things tongue in cheek and sometimes you say things to try to motivate people or to motivate myself.

"When I speak, I don't have any regrets about what I say. What I was a little bit annoyed about was how people took it out of context and especially those people who know me."

Newcastle travel to already-relegated QPR this weekend and Carver takes his squad to Loftus Road after another week of speculation surrounding his position at Newcastle.

But Carver is paying no attention to such stories and instead remains focused on the task of avoiding what would be a catastrophic relegation.

"I’m not interested in that at the moment, I’m just focused on these next two games," he said. "I don’t read the newspapers, I haven’t got a Twitter account, I don’t go on Facebook and I don’t watch the television, except for cricket and golf."