Newcastle United still has a long way to go to avoid relegation

New-found optimism can be seen amongst the Newcastle United faithful following the club's transfer activity in the winter. The results since then have mostly been positive, with the club staying unbeaten in three games. However, they still have a long way to go to avoid the drop.

Eddie Howe has a major role to play in deploying the new arrivals the club recruited in the winter.

As many as seven players arrived at Saint James' Park this winter, which included the likes of Chris Wood from Burnley and Bruno Guimaraes from Olympique Lyon.

Change in formation

Eddie Howe has employed an offensive style of play with a 4-3-3 formation. His decision to play in that style was backed by the club's owners as they managed to land Guimaraes and Wood.

However, recent results have shown that the club create way fewer chances with this style of play. In the game against Watford, which they managed to draw, they only managed to hit one shot on target compared to Watford's five.

In the following game against Leeds, Newcastle needed Jonjo Shelvy's free-kick to edge their rivals. This highlights Newcastle's lack of scoring opportunities with this formation.

A change in style to a 4-2-3-1 could make a substantial change to their fortunes with Guimaraes and Shelvy being deployed as double-pivots. Dwight Gayle's pace can be exploited from the wings along with fan favorite Allan Saint-Maximin. Ryan Fraser has looked out of sorts in recent weeks and Gayle's introduction into the first-team eleven can definitely prove to be a handful.

Chris Wood holds the key for Newcastle United

In addition to a change in formation, Howe must ensure that Wood's finishing qualities are reliable. For most of the season so far, the club have relied heavily on Callum Wilson to provide goals. His calf injury has sidelined him for a long period and with Wood being the only proper number nine at the club, his skills will have to be exploited better.

Defense is not yet sorted

Kieran Trippier joined the club in the January transfer window. However, he alone, cannot solve their defensive lapses.

Newcastle's centre-back pairing Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles have proved to be rather inconsistent. Lascelles was found guilty against Watford after his mistake led to the Hornets scoring a late equalizer.

Late last year, the club bottled leads against Manchester United and Norwich City, which could have easily cushioned them from the relegation dogfight.

Newcastle can ill-afford to miss chances at this time of the season as they battle the odds to survive relegation.