Head coach John Carver will head into Saturday's Barclays Premier League clash with Arsenal with only 13 fit senior outfield players and just one central defender.
However, he will do so having held talks with managing director Lee Charnley over the way forward and a rebuilding programme being drawn up as owner Mike Ashley prepares to address a situation which is threatening to derail the current season.
Carver said: "Yes, the squad needs to be stronger and they have acknowledged that to me. Lee and the board have acknowledged that to me, and that's why I am saying to you now they are going to invest, because they know they have to.
"I am telling you now, because I have been part of it in the last few weeks, there are things in place. That's from the top, and the fact that I am sitting here talking about this acknowledgement tells me that they have realised. They've got to do something about it, and they know that.
"It's a difficult situation. I've spoken to Lee Charnley, who has obviously spoken to Mike, and they acknowledge the fact that we're a little bit short at the back and particularly at centre back.
"There's a process in place. I've been involved in that process for a few weeks now, there's big meeting in place in the next couple of weeks with Lee Charnley and [chief scout] Graham Carr to talk about the future and to talk about investment.
"I've seen who we are looking at and without going into detail, there's a lot of work going on behind the scenes. This football club will invest in the summer, because it needs it."
Newcastle invested heavily during the summer to bring the like of Jack Colback, Siem de Jong, Remy Cabella, Emmanuel Riviere, Daryl Janmaat and Ayoze Perez to Tyneside, but stopped short of adding the striker and central defender many onlookers believed they needed in addition after making prolonged, but ultimately unsuccessful, attempts to do so.
They decided not to address that issue during the January transfer window either despite losing Steven Taylor to an Achilles injury for the remainder of the season, and have subsequently seen Paul Dummett join him in the treatment room with skipper Fabricio Coloccini set to sit out the next three games through suspension, leaving Mike Williamson as Carver's only specialist central defender.
The Magpies are short too in attack with Papiss Cisse serving a seven-match ban and Riviere struggling to make his mark in English football.
However, while it may not ultimately benefit him as he attempts to prove he is the man to succeed Alan Pardew on a permanent basis in the most trying of circumstances, Carver admits he is excited by the blueprint.
He said: "I'm excited by the fact that I've been part of the process, that's the first thing. I've seen the players, and they're good players."
Meanwhile, Carver has hit back at Match of the Day pundit Phil Neville for suggestion his players already had their flip-flops on as they succumbed in tame fashion to Everton last Sunday.
He said: "I was pretty angry when I heard it because he couldn't be any further from the truth.
"I think it's insulting and I think it's wrong, especially from ex-players. I'm sure if they were playing now, they wouldn't like the comments, as I didn't.
"What I did do was to inform the players about what these people had been saying. I thought it was important that they knew. Now it's down to ourselves to show those people out there that we've not go our flip-flops on - although we might today, because it's sunny!"