Caretaker manager John Carver has defended his team selection after admitting that Newcastle United went out of the FA Cup with a whimper against Leicester.
Several star performers were absent from the starting line up for the third round tie, as Carver made seven changes to the side that drew 3-3 with Burnley in the Premier League two days previously. Some Geordie fans criticised Carver, who plans to apply for the job of head coach, after seeing their only hopes of winning a trophy this season go up in smoke at the King Power Stadium.
Leonardo Ulloa headed the only goal of the game just before half-time. It was a rare moment of brilliance in a game low on quality, despite the tie being the only one played on Saturday between two Premier League teams. A large proportion of the 4,319 travelling support turned on their team late on and even booed the Newcastle players, together with Carver, at the end of the game as they came over to applaud the fans.
But Carver insisted he played his strongest available team, with Ayoze Perez the only player actually rested. "I put out the strongest team - other than Ayoze Perez," said Carver.
"Perez is coming into a new culture from Spanish football and he's one of our best players - one of our shining lights in a season when we didn't even expect him to be in the team. We thought he'd be one for the future, but he's gone into the team and has been outstanding.
"If you had seen him after the Burnley game or the following morning at the training ground, he'd ran out of fuel. For me to take a massive gamble 48 hours later with him would have been too big a gamble."
Carver also explained the other big-name absentees. He continued: "Daryl Janmaat had a problem with his groin. Moussa Sissoko - both of his hamstrings were tight and I didn't want to risk that. [Fabricio] Coloccini had a problem with a nerve leading into his buttock. Steven Taylor we lost because of a snapped Achilles.
"Even the morning of the game we had Jack Colback travel with us despite having a tight hamstring. Unfortunately he felt worse and didn't play. That's why I didn't take the gamble and he wasn't even on the bench. Sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture. This was just one game, the future of this football club is over the next few weeks."
Leicester boss Nigel Pearson was also left counting the cost of injuries. Esteban Cambiasso added to Pearson's problems when he limped off with a tight thigh in the first half, leaving four of Leicester's central midfielders - Cambiasso, Andy King (thigh), Danny Drinkwater (groin) and Dean Hammond (calf) - nursing knocks.
"Esteban came off as a precaution," said Pearson, who, like Carver, also made seven changes to his starting line up on Saturday. "Danny Drinkwater had a scan the other day, and is not a long-term problem.
"Andy King is out, but should be back by next week. Dean Hammond is out, he's got a tight calf so couldn't play. So, we've got a few players to nurse through this period."
Riyad Mahrez is set to go to the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, as is Jeff Schlupp, although his departure is now in doubt after he suffered a knee injury in the 2-2 draw at Liverpool. Schlupp is part of Ghana's provisional 31-man squad for the competition that begins on January 17 and was due to fly out for a week's training camp on Monday before the final 23-man squad was selected.
Pearson said: "I am not saying he won't go, what I am saying is we will see how he is this week before he potentially joins the training camp.
"He is our player and, while they [Ghana] may have the ability to utilise international rules and regulations about calling players up, we will make sure that his well-being is top of the agenda."
Source: FIFA.com