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Assessing Newcastle's chances of avoiding the drop

Reuters

The atmosphere at St. James' Park hit a positive note in Saturday's win over West Brom. Newcastle supporters could finally celebrate a solid team performance, even if the 1-0 score didn't exactly indicate one. The Magpies dominated possession, fired 19 shots on West Brom's goal and limited the visiting side to no attempts on target.

It was a marked improvement from the 3-0 midweek reverse at Goodison Park against Everton. Manager Steven McClaren needed a response, and he got one. Newcastle is now out of the relegation zone, as Norwich continued its plummet down the Premier League standings.

Can the Geordies build on this latest result and avoid the drop?

The players

Four key players arrived as January reinforcements for a team that had to take its lowly position in the table much more seriously. McClaren spent £29 million to sign Jonjo Shelvey, Henri Saivet, Andros Townsend, and Seydou Doumbia last month to address the club's shortcomings and eliminate any room for excuses.

The rally began in earnest.

Shelvey, the quartet's standout performer, has made the biggest difference so far. His two assists - including one to striker Aleksandar Mitrovic for the winner against the Baggies - inspired Newcastle's attack.

But his commitment goes beyond offensive statistics: Shelvey has shown his capability of tracking back and breaking up plays. At a cost of just £12 million, the 23-year-old England international could prove the bargain of the year.

As for Mitrovic, the mercurial summer signing from Anderlecht, he's surely the one to benefit from the new arrivals. With the midfield tidied up and Townsend and Doumbia there to help with the goalscoring burden, Mitrovic doesn't have as much pressure on him. His finishing has left a lot to be desired this season, even though he puts in an extra two hours after each training session to practice it, but McClaren hopes the West Brom winner will give the Serbian the "belief" he needs to push on.

The manager

Newcastle played with the spirit of a relegation battler on the weekend, and gaffer McClaren has the squad firmly following his lead.

There were makeshift adjustments in this match, with Cheick Tiote returning after a month of transfer speculation, 20-year-old Rolando Aarons earning just his second Premier League start and Steven Taylor making a comeback from a months-long hamstring injury. Captain Fabricio Coloccini also played through a swollen knee.

The recipe, even against a struggling outfit in its own right in West Brom, could have proved a disastrous experiment. But it worked.

"You wonder what reaction you’ll get because we've had words since Wednesday," said McClaren. "But with Taylor and Tiote, we had fight and character on the field. Their spirit is exactly what we need. If you get that from those two, the rest follow. They're so aggressive in the way they play. Tiote has only been back training with us for two days but he's 100 percent committed and, if he keeps his composure and passes simply, he’s a very good player. I hope he stays now."

So does Newcastle have a chance?

The Premier League needs a strong Newcastle, and it is undoubtedly stronger than it was at the beginning of the campaign. The club may have battled a media storm due to controversial owner, Mike Ashley, but he's done well to stick with McClaren through 13 losses.

With another 13 matches left to play, Newcastle has a good chance of reversing its fortunes, especially if it can build on the West Brom result. After losing its fifth consecutive league match, relegation rival Norwich is in worse shape, and any misfortune in Norfolk will come as relief on Tyneside.

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