STEVE McCLAREN insists it was always the plan to prioritise quality over quantity when it came to formulating Newcastle United’s transfer policy this summer, and claims the absence of any last-minute panic buys underlines the effectiveness of the club’s work.

The Magpies were one of eight top-flight clubs not to make a single addition on transfer-deadline day, despite McClaren having only added five players since taking over at St James’ Park at the start of the summer.

One of those additions, Ivan Toney, is regarded as a development-team player rather than a first-team squad member, but the other four still boast a combined price tag of more than £46m.

That represents a significant outlay given that Mehdi Abeid and Olivier Kemen were the only players to leave for a fee – Remy Cabella’s loan to Marseille could be worth £6.5m if he moves permanently next summer – and having quickly identified the need for improvements when he took over from John Carver, McClaren is delighted with this summer’s remedial work.

“When we came through the door, we sat down in the first week and formulated a plan,” said the Newcastle head coach. “We felt that bringing in too many would be too much, and we needed quality instead.

“It wasn’t a plan for the next eight weeks and this window – it was a plan for the next window and the next window after that. We’ve really targeted three windows.

“As I’ve said from the beginning, by the start of next season, we will have had three windows. Hopefully, we’ll have brought more quality in, turned the squad around, and be better than where we are now.”

Be that as it may, McClaren accepts the need for more immediate progress with his side currently sitting in 19th place in the table.

It can be argued that is a false position, as two commendable displays, against Southampton and Manchester United, have been interspersed with two matches, against Swansea City and Arsenal, that saw Newcastle hampered by being reduced to ten men.

The next two games should offer the Magpies a decent opportunity to claim a first league win, with a trip to West Ham United preceding a home game with Watford.

And while Aleksandar Mitrovic will be suspended for both of those matches following his dismissal against Arsenal, McClaren feels his summer transfer dealings have ensured he is presiding over a squad that boasts depth as well as talent.

“I watched the Newcastle vs Arsenal game from March, and the team has changed radically from that game,” he said. “More importantly, the whole of the squad has too.

“There is much more competition now, and that’s coming from the players who are not playing, and some of those who are not even getting onto the bench.

“They all know it’s a squad game – it’s not just about numbers one to 11. The rest are very important, and they have to be ready when called upon. Performances like the one we got last week (against Northampton in the Capital One Cup) show me that they are ready when needed.”

Newcastle’s squad depth could be reduced before the end of the month, as McClaren will attempt to provide some of his players with some much-needed game time when the Football League loan window opens.

Both Mike Williamson and Yoan Gouffran will be offered to clubs in the Championship, with Brighton having previously expressed an interest in the former and Hull City understood to be keen on acquiring the latter.

Rob Elliot, Curtis Good and Gael Bigirimana could also leave Tyneside as their first-team chances will be extremely limited in the remainder of the season.

 

* Summer signing Georginio Wijnaldum praised Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal as he was crowned Dutch Footballer of the Year at an awards ceremony in Amsterdam earlier this week.

Wijnaldum was presented with his award by former Holland midfielder Clarence Seedorf, and thanked van Gaal for being prepared to gamble on his fitness ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

Wijnaldum played in all seven of Holland’s matches as they finished in third position in Brazil, scoring in the third-placed play-off victory over the hosts.

“I want to thank (PSV boss) Phillip Cocu, (sporting director) Marcel Brands and Louis van Gaal,” said the Magpies midfielder. “He (van Gaal) dared to take me to the World Cup after an injury when I hadn’t played for a long time.”