Newcastle head coach John Carver reckons his side's poor form is due to the number of foreign players at the club. With just three wins in 13 matches, Carver, who is in charge until the end of the season, has warned the Magpies need to change their transfer policy, having heavily recruited from France in recent years.

"With the amount of foreign players coming in now it's a tougher situation," he said. "Within their DNA, when it comes to a derby game, there's something not right.

"No matter how hard you try and no matter what you try and do, it's an issue.

"It is very difficult sometimes because, if you're dealing in the French market or the German market or the Spanish market, then it's very difficult to find out a little bit about their personality, about how they are around the place.

"It is dead easy if you're dealing with a British club. You've got to try and do as much homework as you can and find out about their personality, because we've lost five derby games in a row."