Leicester City 3 Newcastle 0: Mike Williamson denies he got himself 'deliberately' sent off

Leicester City 3 Newcastle United 0: The Foxes maul Magpies as stunning Premier League revival continues

(Getty)

Newcastle United defender Mike Williamson has denied his manager John Carver's claims that he got himself sent off during the defeat to Leicester City.

The 31-year-old centre-back received a second booking after clattering into Foxes striker Jamie Vardy as the ball seemed to be rolling out of play.

Magpies boss Carver gave a remarkable analysis of his flailing side at full-time after their eighth consecutive Premier League defeat left them just two points above 18th placed Sunderland.

Also accusing Williamson of taking the 'easy way out' of the relegation scrap, with the defender now suspended for two matches, Carver has been criticised for the manner in which he has aligned himself in direct conflict with his own squad.

John Carver accused his players of not showing effort (Getty)

In a short statement released on Sunday morning, as the embers left behind by their latest disastrous defeat were beginning to cool, Williamson denied the claims.

"There was absolutely no intent to hurt Jamie or get sent off," he said.

"But I recognise that I should have been more composed and measured in my determination to win the ball.

"Unfortunately, it did the one thing that I never wanted to do, and that was to hurt the team."

Leonardo Ulloa scores his penalty emphatically (Getty Images)

Leonardo Ulloa gave Leicester the lead after just 38 seconds before Wes Morgan's second top flight goal of the season 16 minutes later.

The £8m Argentinian striker doubled his tally from the penalty spot after the restart after Emmanuel Rivière shoved Marcin Wasilewski to the floor.

Williamson will be suspended for the first two of Newcastle's next fixtures - against West Brom and QPR - one match for his red card and another because it was his second sending-off of the season.

He added: "I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to the Newcastle United supporters and my team-mates for getting sent off."