MICK McCARTHY has jumped to the defence of under-fire Kelvin Davis ahead of Sunday's trip to Newcastle United, after the Sunderland goalkeeper was singled out for criticism by the Match of the Day team.

Since making a £1.25m move from Ipswich Town in the summer, a number of fantastic saves from Davis have been spoiled by the occasional costly mistake.

The BBC football highlights programme's expert analyst Alan Hansen chose to use Saturday night as the perfect time to emphasise Davis's shortcomings this season.

During the 3-1 defeat by Manchester United, Davis's positioning for the opening two goals has been questioned.

When Wayne Rooney burst free towards the Sunderland goal towards the end of the first half his second touch was poor enough to allow the keeper to make his move.

However, Davis remained on his line until it was too late and Rooney skipped round him before his shot nestled into the back of the net, despite the best efforts of Justin Hoyte on the line.

Then, after the restart, Ruud van Nistelrooy's low right-foot shot from just outside the area went into Davis's far post, much to the annoyance of every home supporter at the Stadium of Light.

Hansen did not hold back when he chose to pinpoint Davis's mistakes.

But McCarthy, who knows Sunderland's only league victory of the campaign so far at Middlesbrough was down to Davis's heroics between the posts, believes the former Liverpool and Scotland captain was cruel on his summer buy.

"I've got a lot of time for Alan Hansen and I am a friend of his, but he is not a goalkeeping coach," said McCarthy. "I have done television and it's very easy to be critical of people. I think the two examples they gave were harsh.

"Kelvin had £46m worth of talent coming at him on Saturday, in Rooney and van Nistelrooy, and I'd like to have seen what other keepers would have done in that position.

"Kelvin says the van Nistelrooy one was hit hard and he did well to get his hand on it.

"As for the Rooney one, I would blame the lads who didn't get back and there were a few of them. When people look to blame Kelvin they should look to the times he has shown his ability - like at Boro when we won 2-0.

"Hansen certainly didn't do him any favours on Saturday night but we're delighted with him."

Davis's failure to deal with a long-range effort from Geremi in the defeat to Chelsea, and a mix-up with Gary Breen in the defeat by West Brom, featured in a chequered start to life on Wearside.

The 29-year-old has kept just one clean sheet since replacing Mart Poom and Thomas Myhre in the summer and has played nine league games during that time.

McCarthy, meanwhile, has revealed that Frenchman Christian Bassila will miss the derby, while Julio Arca is also extremely unlikely to play.

Bassila always looked destined to miss out on his first meeting with the Magpies after suffering a hamstring injury in the draw with West Ham.

But Arca had hoped to make his return from a swollen toe against the club's big North-East rivals.

The Argentinian even spoke yesterday of his determination to prove his fitness ahead of the short trip to St James' Park, but McCarthy said: "Julio has very little chance of playing. I know he wants to but he has very little chance."

* Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric insists David Pleat and Sir Bobby Robson have the right profile but have not yet been approached to become the club's new director of football.

With Velimir Zajec having resigned to return to his family home in Greece, Portsmouth are seeking a suitable replacement to work with manager Alain Perrin.

''Don't rule anybody out,'' said Mandaric.

''These are the sort of people we want but we will not be contacting anybody until, at the earliest, next month. We are all busy supporting the manager and his team."

Pleat had a temporary spell as consultant to Perrin in the closing weeks of last season, while Robson has been out of football since being axed as Newcastle manager.

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