Alan Shearer has urged Newcastle United fans to get behind new head coach Matthias Jaissle in what he believes will be a challenging season for the Magpies.
The Geordie hero has watched on with the rest of the supporters as the club sold Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes, replacing them with exciting but unproven talent in Sean Steur, Aladji Bamba and Bazoumana Toure.
Shearer understands the financial reasoning behind some of those deals, but fears the lack of characters in the dressing room will have a big impact this season.
Shearer's plea for support
Jaissle is also experiencing the Premier League for the first time, and Shearer has pleaded for the club's fanbase to give the German their full support as he kicks off a new era for the club.
Unlike many pundits, who are tipping Newcastle as an outside relegation candidate, Shearer does not see a battle with the drop emerging, but has also ruled out European qualification.
"I understand the change of direction at the club," he told Betfair. "I understand that we're not going to be qualifying for the Champions League."
"It is tough when you see your best players continually leave. I mean, that's another thing getting on to the rules, I guess. Villa and Newcastle fans will feel that."
Concerns over losing leaders
"But we finished 12th last season with Tonali, with Gordon and with Bruno Guimaraes. So I think that tells you where Newcastle were and how they had to sell and how they had to bring in young, fresh talent. Now, that always brings challenging moments as well as losing your manager."
"I think it will be a very, very different season. I think it will be a challenging season because I think if it was that easy to sell your big players and then replace them with younger, energetic, hungry young players, then everyone would do that."
"My small concern would be that you're losing characters. OK, we finished 12th, so those players didn't have the best season last season, but those players were all characters in the dressing room."
"If you take those three out and you're also losing Kieran Trippier, who was a huge presence in the dressing room, what you are losing is your characters and your leaders, and you're replacing them with young, inexperienced players. Not only young and inexperienced players, but young inexperienced players in the Premier League."
Prediction for the season
"That would be my concern more than anything, losing the leaders and the characters. I also think it's important to think ability-wise, as good as they were, we did finish 12th."
"This season we're going into the unknown. We've got a young, inexperienced manager who's going to need all the help and all the backing that we have to give him."
"Put that in with the players that they brought in, the young, inexperienced players. Albeit you've still got Schar, Dan Burn and Joelinton. Ultimately, I don't expect us to finish in a European spot."
Shearer's Premier League 1-20 prediction: 1 Arsenal, 2 Chelsea, 3 Man City, 4 Man United, 5 Liverpool, 6 Spurs, 7 Aston Villa, 8 Everton, 9 Bournemouth, 10 Nottingham Forest, 11 Brighton, 12 Leeds, 13 Brentford, 14 Newcastle, 15 Sunderland, 16 Crystal Palace, 17 Ipswich, 18 Fulham, 19 Coventry, 20 Hull.
