Newcastle have struggled to cope with the demands of a Premier League and Europa League campaign this season.

Their Premier League performance has been hampered by an injury-crisis, which has stretched the Magpies squad to the limit.

Struggling

The Magpies defeated Wigan 3-0 on Monday night, lost 2-0 in Bordeaux in the Europa League last night, but still qualified for the knockout stages of the competition.

Prior to the Wigan victory the side from the North East had suffered four straight defeats. This run coincided with the Magpies losing key players to injury.

Hopeful

Toon boss Alan Pardew is hoping to strengthen his squad in January. He revealed after the Bordeaux game he stated: “I am just hoping that, fingers-crossed, when we come out of the other side of the window, we have got a stronger squad.”

Pardew is in desperate need of strengthening his squad, as his team need reinforcements in the January transfer window. However, it’s unknown how much money the Newcastle boss will have to spend in the window.

Injury-list

Newcastle are currently without Steven Taylor, Hatem Ben Arfa, Yohan Cabaye and Ryan Taylor. The Magpies don’t have a squad big enough to cope with the loss of such quality players. Without these first team players Newcastle have been struggling to pick up points.

Improvement

The Magpies ambitions for this season would have been another crack at finishing fourth in the top flight of the Premier League. However, they are currently sitting 14^th in the Premier League table. If Newcastle are to move up the table then reinforcements are crucial.

None of the teams challenging for the top four have shown any noticeable consistency, but the Magpies are currently nine points behind fourth place Tottenham. It will be a major task for Alan Pardew’s side to get back into the top six.

Can Newcastle bring in quality reinforcements in January?