Making Progress?

Chris Hughton says strengthening the defence will be a key part of his summer spending.

With Steven Taylor out for the start of the season and with no new centre backs brought in as yet Newcastle are short at the back.

Speaking to the Northern Echo Hugton said:

"If I look at what we've got at this moment, defence is probably the area where we're a little bit light"

Patrick Van Aanholt, the Chelsea left back who played on loan for Newcastle during last season remains a target for Hughton as cover for Jose Enrique.

Most areas of our team need some reinforcements (some would say all areas!) but with a limited budget getting the squad upto an appropriate size for a demanding season is crucial.

Talk of Sol Campbell signing has been greeted with a mixed response but with just three weeks until the season kicks off I`d say he would be a solid signing. He`d add much needed experience and played infrequently would do a good job for us.

We have to accept that, rightly or wrongly, we are not in the market for multi million pound signings. Hughton has no transfer budget as such and so loan deals and free signings are the way forward. We all know the reason why this is but it`s a fact of life at Newcastle United for the foreseeable future.

And whilst some of the players we are linked with (and indeed have signed already) have some fans questioning whether they are Premier League class, it should be said that we do have players that are at least as good as the bottom few teams in the Premier League.

Getting the team spirit going again, like last season, will be the deciding factor as to whether we survive this season or not.

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