'As clear as day' – former Newcastle United midfielder asks the pressing January transfer window questions their owners need to be weighing up

Jermaine Jenas has suggested what needs to change at Newcastle United in order for the club to stay in the Premier League.
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The Magpies suffered a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool on Thursday evening and sit 19th in the table, three points from safety.

And with the side conceding 37 goals from their opening 17 matches, it is clear where their problems lie.

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"It has been clear as day for a long period of time,” Jenas said on BT Sport. “They don't look like they can keep a clean sheet and that is obviously very worrying.

Joe Cole, Jermaine Jenas and Jake Humphrey are seen sitting in the BT Studios box (Photo by Owen Humphreys - Pool/Getty Images)Joe Cole, Jermaine Jenas and Jake Humphrey are seen sitting in the BT Studios box (Photo by Owen Humphreys - Pool/Getty Images)
Joe Cole, Jermaine Jenas and Jake Humphrey are seen sitting in the BT Studios box (Photo by Owen Humphreys - Pool/Getty Images)

"You're toying with the fact, is it an individual type thing? If they bring in one player, who is that player who can come in and absolutely shore things up in the back four.

"This group of players' confidence is pretty shot defensively, they know they're not going to keep clean sheets so they need a good few experienced centre-halves in particular who can do a job to just guide them through this period that they're in now.”

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Newcastle put in an improved display at Liverpool compared to their previous outing at Leicester City. But a controversial equaliser from The Reds and a denied penalty shout at the other end meant it was yet another hard luck story for Eddie Howe’s side.

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Jenas, who played 152 times for Newcastle between 2001 and 2005, added: “A couple of decisions went against them in vital moments in the game.

“I would have thought some home truths were said after the Leicester game because it was a poor performance and I thought I saw some stuff in the [Liverpool] game that made me think, maybe [they can stay up], who knows?

"They showed some fight, some spirit, some character and showed that going forward they can cause some problems.

“As it stands right now, this is a team who are going to be getting relegated so a lot needs to be changed and a lot depends again on the bodies that do come in.

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"The type, the characters, have they been there before are they fighters? What reason are they at the football club?

"These are the questions the owners need to be weighing up right now. As it stands, this group of players aren't good enough to be in the league.”

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