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Andrew Hankinson

Former Newcastle United manager says Kevin Keegan's expectations must be met by new owners

Former Newcastle United manager John Carver says expectations at Newcastle have "never been any higher" and there is a "euphoria" since the takeover.

Carver was assistant coach at Newcastle United under Bobby Robson and Alan Pardew , as well as having two short-term spells as manager of the team.

He is currently assistant coach for the Scotland team and while being interviewed by Richard Keys and Andy Gray on the Keys & Gray podcast, Carver was asked his thoughts on post-takeover Newcastle.

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Carver said: "The expectations are high and they've never been any higher than now. "

Keys asked whether the expectation is so high due to former manager Kevin Keegan having "over-achieved" at Newcastle during his first stint as manager.

Carver replied: "Kevin developed the animal and the animal needs to be fed. After Kevin, it was a little bit of a lull, and then Bobby came in and he did the same thing, he picked everything up again.

"And when you've had a taste of that success - although we didn’t win anything, but we were competing at the top end for the Premiership and cup finals - you want more of it, and unfortunately that’s gone sour for a number of years now.

John Carver, currently assistant coach for Scotland, has been talking about expectations at Newcastle United. (Getty Images)

"What I will say is, I went to a game before the transfer window when the new owners just took over and you could sense the atmosphere was building. I went to the game against Watford a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing.

"I was in the lounges, seven or eight lounges, and nobody was worried about getting knocked out of the FA Cup by Cambridge - in the past that would have got thrown back in your face as the manager. It got swept under the carpet a little bit because of the euphoria around the place, and the atmosphere in the rooms and in the stadium was like it was under Kevin, under Bobby. They sense it now."

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The conversation then moved on to the relegation threat Newcastle currently face, having climbed out of the relegation zone but only by one point.

Carver said: "I’m putting seven teams in it up to Brentford. I think there’s seven teams in it and I think we’re good enough to get at least fourth bottom. At least fourth bottom. If not even further."

You can listen to the whole interview here .

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