They played in grey and duly put in a dull and uninspired performance , these really are dark days for Newcastle United . Still , at least they returned a club record profit of £18.7million last week and retail gain was probably behind the bizarre decision to ditch their black-and-white stripes . But on Sunday they set another record as losers of the last five Tyne-Wear derbies . John Carver looks on as his Newcastle United struggle against rivals Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby . Head coach John Carver said before the game he had a secret motivational tactic up his sleeve and would only reveal what it was following victory . Well , we 'll never know what he used in a forlorn attempt to rouse his players . But we do know it did n't work . Phil Neville was scathing in his assessment of Newcastle a fortnight ago when he said that their application during the 3-0 defeat at Everton was reminiscent of a set of players with one eye on their summer holidays . Neville was at the Stadium of Light on Sunday and , rather than prove him wrong as a livid Carver promised his men would , they played like a side with their flip-flops on . Carver was in a rage again on Sunday night , but this time it was his players feeling the fury . ' I said before the game that no side of mine would be criticised for not working hard enough . I was wrong , ' he said . Jordi Gomez and Remy Cabella do battle on the Stadium of Light pitch as Sunderland snatch victory . 'The performance hurts more than the result . We were second best . It 's a funny thing pressure , some players can handle it and some ca n't . Some of ours perhaps ca n't after losing five in a row . ' I am absolutely embarrassed to be part of it . ' Newcastle 's problem is a sad attitude of acceptance that has been allowed to permeate a squad lacking in ability and character . The Magpie mandate is survival and , to that end , their season finished the minute they were more or less assured of as much . Not even a derby can rally this lot . There was one incident in the second half which captured their passive approach . With the play dead , Mike Williamson had to scream at team-mate Daryl Janmaat in a desperate effort to return the ball with some sense of urgency . Sunderland , in contrast , hassled , harried and hounded their opponents . They had won the previous four derbies because they out-worked Newcastle and wanted it more . They won a fifth for exactly the same reasons . Jermain Defoe earns Sunderland all three points with a sensational volley at the Stadium of Light . This was billed as 'The Desperation Derby ' given the alarming form of the North-East rivals going into the game – four goals between them in 18 hours with six points taken from a possible 36 . But there was only one team desperate to win this . It was n't until the final 15 minutes that Newcastle drew a save from Costel Pantilimon . But it was too little , too late . Far too little , in fact . These are dispiriting times on Tyneside . The disconnect between supporters , players and hierarchy has never been greater . On full-time , the Toon Army spat as much venom towards their own team as they did the red-and-whites goading them nearby . They had just witnessed a dour display of nothingness , sadly lacking in energy , imagination and pride . Newcastle United goalkeeper Tim Krul can only look on in horror as the striker 's effort cruises in . There was one shining light amid the darkness . Cancer survivor Jonas Gutierrez was starting his first game in 20 months and was by some distance the only player in grey worthy of applause , and that he rightly received . His shirt was soaked near-enough black come the end such was his effort . It failed , however , to inspire his team-mates , one of which , Tim Krul , was criticised by fans on social media when it appeared he congratulated Jermain Defoe for his stunning match-winner shortly before half-time . But to demonise Krul alone would be wrong . The problems at Newcastle run from top to bottom . They are a club without ambition , happy to renew their Premier League pay packet come the end of the season . That message from above means you end up with performances such as this – grey , with little sign of light . January signing Defoe reels away in celebration after scoring a priceless goal for Sunderland . Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat ( left ) celebrates Defoe 's opening goal as Newcastle manager . The Sunderland player closed down quickly throughout as Newcastle players struggled to get going . Cancer survivor Jonas Gutierrez ( left ) was by some distance the only player in grey worthy of applause .
Newcastle set another record as losers of the last three Tyne-Wear derbies . They played in grey and put in an equally dismal and uninspired display . Defeat came after Newcastle announced club record profit of £18.7million . They were left to rue decision to ditch their black and white stripes .