Former Newcastle United captain Kevin Nolan has backed his old side to "get cracking again" if they can strengthen their squad in the January transfer window.
Nolan, who scored a hat-trick in the famous 5-1 derby win over Sunderland in 2010, admitted he was worried about the club before the season began. Newcastle endured a turbulent summer, with Matthias Jaissle replacing Eddie Howe as head coach in August and star players Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes leaving.
The club brought in eight new players to St James' Park, but only one, former Manchester City midfielder Nico Gonzalez, had Premier League experience, with youth potential the main focus of the recruitment policy.
Nolan's pre-season fears
Speaking on the Footy Accumulators No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, in partnership with BoyleSports, Nolan said: "I must admit when I watched Newcastle before the season started, I feared for them. There was a lot going on, a lot of outgoings and youngsters coming in."
He added: "If they can get through this season, build in January with a couple of players and more in the summer, I feel like he could get it cracking again. It's going to be an up-and-down one for the Newcastle fans, but if I were them I would take a mid-table finish, I would snap your hands off for that."
Fazackerley shares concerns
Nolan was speaking alongside former United coach Derek Fazackerley, a key figure in Kevin Keegan's backroom staff during the Entertainers era. Fazackerley echoed Nolan's concerns and insisted a mid-table finish would not be a disaster given the summer upheaval.
"With the players they had lost in the summer, I thought it was going to be a tough year for them anyway, no doubt about that," he said. "A new manager coming in from abroad who hadn't experienced the Premier League."
He continued: "If they can establish themselves in the middle of the table this year, which might not be good enough for the Newcastle fans, but it would certainly be a respectable position for the club. It's a very, very difficult job for Jaissle, but if he can sustain them in and around the middle of the table with maybe an outside chance of pushing for one of the European places then it would be a fantastic achievement."
