JOHN CARVER should remember the six-month reign of Richard Dinnis at St James’ Park, when Newcastle United last lost seven matches in a row, so avoiding having such a record will be high in the head coach’s thinking this afternoon.

Carver is a 50-year-old Geordie, born in the city and has always had ambitions of playing and managing the club since he was a schoolboy. If his tenure is to come to an end at the end of this season, he will not want to go with a stain like that.

The current malaise of six straight defeats equals the worst in the Premier League era, which Alan Pardew also suffered last season. A failure to win any of the remaining five matches would see the dire Dinnis’ total of ten consecutive defeats between August and October 1977 surpassed.

But what about the players Carver has at his disposal trying to lift Newcastle out of these April frustrations? Confidence is at a seasonal-low following the reversals to Manchester United, Everton, Arsenal, Sunderland, Liverpool and Tottenham. The Magpies have also failed to score in four of those.

The work has been put in on the training ground this week. The slump could yet end in relegation if results go against them and fortunes do not improve.

Dutch defender Daryl Janmaat said: “We knew we had to win the Tottenham game. It's very disappointing. We were not good enough. We have to be careful now. We need some points - we know that.

“It's difficult to stay positive, but we have to. We have five games left, and we need - minimum - one win.

“We have to do everything for that, and this weekend is another big opportunity. Hopefully, we can get a result as soon as possible.

"It's strange for me. It's the first time for me that we've lost so many games in a row. We have to turn it around. We have to make sure that we win.”

Swansea City are sitting in a much healthier position, close to securing their highest Premier League finish having climbed up to eighth.

That is the sort of placing Newcastle fans can only dream of, with the Swans displaying the attractive playing style and ambition to excite their supporters under Garry Monk.

But if there have been positives at Newcastle then one has undoubtedly been the impact of Janmaat.

Since his £5m move from Feyenoord after last summer’s World Cup, the Holland international has settled quickly and has, arguably, been the squad’s stand out player along with Ayoze Perez.

Janmaat’s performances have attracted interest from Champions League-bound clubs including Manchester United, while Liverpool and Southampton are both also known to have him on a list of potential summer targets.

The 25-year-old is not focused on any transfer talk at this stage. He said: “I have to play at my level. It's easy to play good in a team that's playing well, so I try to play at my level.

“We have to play at our levels, and in the last game, we didn't do that. We have to turn things around. Everybody's really disappointed. They tried to do their best and work hard, but we need some points. At the moment, it's hard for us to win games.”