DARYL JANMAAT believes Newcastle United’s return to the Etihad Stadium next week could provide the perfect boost after increased concerns among supporters.

A failure to make the most of match-winning positions at Crystal Palace on Wednesday night and at home to Stoke City last Sunday has led to criticism of John Carver’s tactics from fans.

Despite an undefeated run of three matches – one win and two draws – since he was officially handed the managerial reins until the end of the season, Carver has been mocked for being negative in his team’s approach.

At Selhurst Park there were cheeky chants of ‘are you Pardew in disguise’ and ‘attack, attack’ after Newcastle spent the majority of the second half trying to protect Tim Krul’s goal as Palace pushed on.

Newcastle, out of the FA Cup, now have a free weekend before travelling to Premier League champions Manchester City next Saturday and Carver has given his squad a few days off to refresh.

While the trip to Manchester could be seen as daunting, Janmaat feels the memories of the 2-0 success there in the Capital One Cup in October should act as a reminder to the squad that it is possible to spring a surprise. Carver was assistant when Rolando Aarons and Moussa Sissoko’s goals sealed progress in that tie.

Janmaat said: “John is doing a good job. He is making everyone sharp and we like him as a coach. For him as a trainer it is nice for him to get the results that he has in the last few matches. We all needed that lift.

“He was around for the Manchester City game in the cup, he will remember how we did it. The players will too, so we know that we can go and get a result there no matter how they are playing and how good they are.

“We have shown we can lose to any team in the Premier League, but we have shown we can also defeat any Premier League team this year. It is a very strange year so anything can happen. We just have to go there and try to return with a win to try to get us in the top ten.”

Finishing in the upper half of the Premier League is the demand from the boardroom placed on Carver and achieving that goal, it would seem, is the only way he stands a chance of taking over on a long-term basis.

Talk of the next boss has been put on hold while Carver does his best to persuade owner Mike Ashley and managing director Lee Charnley that he is capable of being a permanent frontline boss in the top-flight.

Janmaat said: “We want that top ten finish. We can get points from even the big games so we know we can do it, I want that and so do the team. We have done well in the last few games under John and it’s been nice to end that sequence of poor results we had against some difficult teams.”

The Dutch full-back was Newcastle’s most creative player at Crystal Palace, which said as much about the team’s overall display in an attacking sense as it did about the player’s own performance.

Janmaat regularly attacked the Palace full-back in the first half and was the architect of Papiss Cisse’s 42nd minute opener. The former Feyenoord man’s delivery, after a fine run beyond Wilfried Zaha, was followed by a superb delivery which Cisse nodded in.

After the restart Newcastle had to defend more and caved in when Fraizer Campbell finished off Yannick Bolasie’s cross 19 minutes before the end. That goal came down Newcastle’s left-hand side, while Janmaat continued to defend strongly on the opposite flank.

“It was a difficult game especially in the second half,” said Janmaat. “We were under pressure and I think we can be happy with a draw in the end even if would have wanted more before kick-off.

“I know we have let the lead go for two games in a row but this time I am happier with a point than on Sunday. At Palace we were under pressure in the second half and, if I am honest, then I can live with a draw.

“We want to attack more, but the opposition were at home on Wednesday and it is a lot easier when you are the home team with the crowd behind you to push on. They pressed us back and in the end I think we came away thinking that we defended well to get a point.”

The Football Association are to investigate the coin-throwing incident during the draw at Selhurst Park. Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini was struck in the face by an object thrown by the crowd as Cisse celebrated the opening goal. Palace will not face disciplinary action but the FA are looking to hit the perpetrator with a ban if they can find sufficient evidence.

Young Magpies players Adam Campbell and Callum Roberts have extended their loans with Gateshead until the end of the season.