Philippe Albert gave his thoughts on the current side's struggles and what they will need in the upcoming January transfer window
Newcastle United need three of four signings in January to avoid a struggle to avoid relegation this season.
That is the view of Magpies cult hero Philippe Albert, who says he still watches Newcastle as much as he can.
Rafa Benitez’s side are currently on a nine-game winless run and slipped into the relegation zone after Saturday’s defeat to Arsenal.
And popular Belgian defender Albert told the Sunday Mirror: “I watch them as much as I can. Things aren’t going well but hopefully they will pick up.
“If they don’t buy three or four new players then they’ll definitely struggle. It needs a huge amount of money for the club to be back competing in the top six.
“That’s going to be very difficult because you have clubs like Manchester United, Manchester City, Spurs, Liverpool, Arsenal who are so far ahead.
“The club are too good to go down and I think, in many ways, if they can finish mid-table then that would be a success.
“But whatever happens they’re a long, long way from where they once were.”
Albert was part of the Entertainers side under Kevin Keegan who famously pushed Manchester United so hard for the Premier League title.
A team full of quality, Albert admits he’d struggle to name one current player who’d get into that side.
He continued: “We had such a strong side – we went out there thinking that however many goals the opposition scored, we would score more
“We had that mentality. We were competing in the Premier League, reaching FA Cup Finals, beating Barcelona in the Champions League. It was an amazing time.
“English football was all about ourselves and Manchester United. Chelsea were nowhere, Manchester City were nowhere.
“We played the kind of football that you loved watching as a kid.
“Goals came from everywhere. I’m not sure that any member of the current Newcastle side would get anywhere near that side. We had so many players with so much ability and without Man Utd, we would have won two or three trophies. We came so close.
“We had great players on the pitch and great players on the bench. It didn’t matter whether we were playing at home or away, everyone loved watching us play.
“I don’t think Newcastle have those players anymore. It’s hard to see Newcastle now ever matching what we did.”