“If there is a takeover, you hope that money becomes available but if Mike Ashley is still involved in January, that’s not going to happen. He’s not going to pump money in when he’s looking to sell up. There’s no real creativity in the team. When they played Burnley, as soon as they scored people thought that was it. They need a creative player, someone to score more goals, in January. They need someone who is proven and who will score goals. If you can get a striker in who scores 25 goals then it just about guarantees you will stay in the Premier League. I don’t really see anyone in that squad who will get into double figures, never mind 25.
“You look at 1995 when Newcastle got Les Ferdinand in for £6 million. He had an incredible record, scoring 50 goals in 81 games and then they went and signed Shearer for £15 million, and everyone knows what happened after that. To compete, you have to spend those big transfer fees these days and if you don’t then you fall behind. When you don’t spend money, and spend it wisely, you get into relegation battles.”