John Carver to wield axe on under-performing Newcastle stars for Liverpool clash

JOHN CARVER is set to swing the axe to show his under-performing Newcastle players he is no longer Mr Nice Guy.

Liverpool v Newcastle - Premier League Preview

Carver hopes to end 21 years of Geordie hurt by guiding his side to a first league victory at Anfield since 1994 tonight.

He will attempt to halt that long winless run with a line-up that will be noticeably changed to the one which surrendered local bragging rights by sliding to a fifth straight defeat to Sunderland last week.

Yoan Gouffran, Sammy Ameobi and Remy Cabella are all set to be dropped as Carver bids to improve a dire run of two wins in 13 games since succeeding Alan Pardew, a record that has all but put the 50-year-old interim head coach out of the running for the job on a permanent basis.

Carver waited three days to calm down – and was still so angry he gave his flops both barrels in a heated team meeting where he tore into those players he felt had let him, the club and the fans down with their Stadium of Light no show.

He refused to name names in public but it will be easy to identify those players who saw his nasty side when the Newcastle team-sheet is distributed at Anfield tonight.

“Maybe I need to change the team to start with,” said Carver. “Maybe I need to change a few positions of one or two players, and hope that sparks something.

“I waited until Wednesday before I held a team meeting to tell them what I thought, and it wasn’t one of those meetings where the players had their say, I said what I had to say, and that was it, it was non-negotiable.”

Carver is short of options because of a raft of injuries and suspension ruling out skipper Fabricio Coloccini and 11-goal top scorer Papiss Cisse as Newcastle go in search of precious points to wipe away any lingering relegation doubts.

Gabriel Obertan, Mehdi Abeid, Vurnon Anita and youngster Adam Armstrong are all vying for call-ups to the starting line-up, while Jack Colback is set to be restored to his natural midfield role after struggling as a makeshift left-back in the last two games.

Carver said: “I won’t just pick a side solely on ability, it will be about characters, too.

John CarverPA

John Carver is still reeling after last week's derby defeat

“Going to Anfield you are going to need characters. I want to see some energy. I didn’t see energy last weekend. We talked about out-working Sunderland, and they out-worked us again. We can’t let that happen against Liverpool.

“It doesn’t need me to tell the players they’re playing for their futures and for their families. This group of players usually responds after a disappointment so let’s see how they do.”

Liverpool manager Rodgers, meanwhile, will speak to Raheem Sterling after he was pictured allegedly smoking a shisha pipe.

The winger, who is embroiled in a contract stand-off with the club, was shown inhaling from the pipe on social media. Liverpool did not comment yesterday.

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?