John Carver admits Newcastle United need to look at the 'DNA ' of their dressing-room this summer . The Magpies were beaten for the fifth successive time in Tyne-Wear derbies during Sunday 's 1-0 defeat at Sunderland . Head coach Carver says the club 's hierarchy have already spoken about addressing their shortcomings during the close-season , and concedes that character is one issue they have to consider . Newcaslte boss John Carver admits the club need to look at the 'DNA ' of their dressing-room this summer . Newcastle players train at the club 's training complex on Thursday ahead of Monday 's clash with Liverpool . Newcastle trio Moussa Sissoko , Vurnon Anita and Massaido Haidara take a breather during training . Ryan Taylor attemps to bend the ball around some dummies and hit the target during Thursday 's session . 'There is something in the DNA , ' said Carver . 'We 've had different managers but the same group of players ( keep getting beat ) . There are n't many Ws ( wins ) next to their names . 'It 's something we need to look at . We struggle when we have to compete . We have talked about addressing that in the summer . 'We are going to invest in the summer so there will be new players around to take us forward . ' Newcastle failed to show at the Stadium of Light and Carver later admitted he was 'embarrassed ' by the performance . Jermain Defoe ( centre ) connects beautifully with a left-footed volley to score the winner for Sunderland . Newcastle players look dejected following Sunday 's 1-0 defeat to rivals Sunderland at the Stadium of Light . And he added : ' A lot of people in the dressing-room know they did n't perform and did n't do themselves justice . ' I brought them in on Monday when they were meant to be off , I was n't accepting that . 'Monday was one of my darkest days . It just was not good enough . 'You can do all your preparation you want but it does n't matter if you do n't perform on a Saturday . I do n't want training-ground players . ' Carver admits he was embarrassed by the performance against Sunderland as Newcastle failed to show . United are nine points clear of the relegation zone and travel to Liverpool on Monday . Carver , though , is taking nothing for granted with regards survival . 'There is only nine points in it , ' he said . 'That could be six points if we get nothing at Liverpool . We need points . I 'm not interested in how we play , we just need points . 'We have a seven-game season now . These next seven games could define the players . There are a few in there who are out of contract . '
Newcastle lost 1-0 to rivals Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday . The Magpies have won just one game in their last six league games and are now seven points behind leaders Manchester City with five matches remaining.