John Carver believes a failed penalty appeal in Saturday's loss to Southampton could cost him his chances of taking the Newcastle United job on a permanent basis.
Ronald Koeman's high-flying Southampton left St James' Park with a 2-1 victory thanks to Eljero Elia's brace either side of Yoan Gouffran's fortuitous 29th-minute equaliser for the home team.
It meant caretaker manager Carver oversaw a fourth winless outing since Alan Pardew's departure to take charge of Crystal Palace.
The long-serving coach has made no secret of his desire to land the managerial post on a permanent basis, and highlighted referee Robert Madley's refusal to award a spot-kick when Emmanuel Riviere's shot struck Southampton captain Jose Fonte's outstretched arm in stoppage time as the type of call that may ultimately undermine his ambitions.
"I think when you play football, you understand what is and what isn't a penalty," he told Sky Sports. "If somebody's got their arms down by their side and it hits their arm, you can say maybe he didn't mean it.
"But when you have an L-shape with your arm and it blatantly hits your hand, it's a penalty.
"Unfortunately, sometimes big decisions like that can make big differences to people’s livelihoods and futures."
Carver conceded that the loss meant he was unlikely to get the nod from the Newcastle board, who he urged to make quick progress with the decision on Pardew's successor amid growing discontent among the Tyneside faithful.
"Everybody [the fans] is not sure what’s going on," he said. "They're just sitting there waiting for it and I think, after the result tonight, the decision will be made.
"They [the board] have to do something about it, whether it's me or it's somebody else.
"They're almost three weeks into the process now and I know for a fact they've been working hard behind the scenes. They've got to do something about it."
The 50-year-old maintains he has the ability to take on the post and added that a lack of cutting edge hampered his team’s efforts against Southampton.
"I know I can," he said. “I know the work that we’ve done and how we've played.
"We've come up against a side who are sitting third in the Premier League and I thought we dominated the game.
"We've just got to have a little bit more ambition in the final third."
