Defender Daryl Janmaat has admitted Newcastle got exactly what they deserved from their derby trip to Sunderland - nothing.
The 25-year-old Holland full-back played the full 90 minutes of Sunday's 1-0 Barclays Premier League defeat at the Stadium of Light despite suffering a suspected tear in his calf muscle during the warm-up, but was unable to prevent the Black Cats running out winners as the Magpies slipped to a record fifth successive defeat in the fixture.
Newcastle created little of note on another poor day for John Carver's men, and Janmaat was pulling no punches as he assessed the fall-out.
He told NUFCTV: "It was not good enough. The first half was really poor, we were too negative, so it was not good enough. The second half was much better, but it still wasn't good enough.
"I wouldn't say we didn't give everything. What I can say is we were not good enough and everybody saw that Sunderland were better, especially in the first half.
"If you are not good enough, then most of the time, you lose."
Newcastle were simply not at the races as a Sunderland side motivated by new head coach Dick Advocaat dominated from the off, although they looked like making it to half-time unharmed before Jermain Defoe smashed home a stoppage-time volley which proved to be the tangible difference between the teams.
Janmaat said: "A goal in the last minute of the first half, it's always hard to concede it because you go into the dressing room with a bad feeling. If you go in at 0-0, you can be positive in the dressing room, but if you concede a goal in the 47th minute, then it's hard.
"But they deserved to score in the first half because they had maybe 20 free-kicks and they were better than us, then normally you score a goal. Like I said, it was not good enough."
Defeat was greeted with fury by frustrated fans who have now seen Sunderland take 17 of the 21 points on offer in the last seven derby encounters.
Indeed, the Black Cats have won just 17 of their last 75 league games, five of them against their neighbours, a statistic which provides a damning indictment of Newcastle's lack of progress on the field.
The Magpies last week reported profits of £18.7million at a time when its recruitment policy has once again come under close scrutiny.
Carver went into Sunday's game with only one recognised central defender and right-back Janmaat having to play in the middle with midfielders Ryan Taylor and Jack Colback operating as full-backs, and he was also without a proven Premier League striker in the 18.
That selection crisis was due in part to suspensions for Fabricio Coloccini and Papiss Cisse and injuries to Steven Taylor, Paul Dummett and Massadio Haidara, as well as midfielders Cheick Tiote, Siem de Jong and Rolando Aarons, a casualty list which has served to expose the lack of depth in a squad assembled on a budget and made up largely of players sold a move to St James' Park as a stepping stone to bigger things.
Owner Mike Ashley's tight financial constraints mean where the Magpies were once able to compete for big names - it was they who sparked the bidding war which ultimately led to Wayne Rooney's move to Manchester United from Everton in 2004 - they are now unwilling to do so even with clubs of a similar or lesser stature, and as a result, less able to do so on the pitch.
Newcastle have made no secret of their view that the domestic cup competitions are unimportant, and European qualification very nearly ended in disaster during the 2012-13 campaign.
Mid-table Premier League status and financial self-sufficiency remain the stated dual focus and as a result, disenchantment on the terraces has reached epidemic levels.
It is against that backdrop that Carver is attempting to prove he is the man to replace Alan Pardew at the helm, but a run of two wins from 13 games represents a less than impressive audition despite the mitigating factors.
Source: PA
