SOMETIMES, a one-word answer is all that is required. Sitting in the press room at Anfield, after his Newcastle United side had been subjected to a chastening four-goal defeat to league leaders Liverpool, Rafael Benitez was asked whether any January signings were imminent. “No,” was his curt reply. By way of a follow-up, he was asked whether that concerned him. “Yes,” was his equally succinct answer.

That, in a nutshell, is the brutal reality of life at Newcastle United, a club in a perennial state of limbo. The only surprise is that anyone is shocked when history repeats itself yet again.

Turn the clock back 12 months and Benitez was answering the same questions with the same replies. Back then, it was Amanda Staveley fuelling takeover talk in the build-up to Christmas, with Mike Ashley only too happy to talk up the possibility of a deal. Come the start of January, the takeover was off, Ashley used the collapse of the discussions as a convenient excuse not to spend any meaningful money during the mid-season transfer window, and Benitez was left to engineer a successful survival push with a squad that was barely fit for purpose.

Swap Peter Kenyon for Staveley, and the same thing appears to be happening again. Ashley was only too happy to announce the possibility of a takeover in a surprise interview with Sky News at the start of this month, even though he knew he had not yet received a formal offer. Three weeks on, and a successful deal feels as far away as ever, but Ashley can point to the possibility of a sale as justification for yet another failure to invest in January. Benitez, having briefly displayed signs of optimism when Kenyon’s name first entered the public domain, now appears resigned to what comes next.

Miguel Almiron for £25m? Tammy Abraham for a similar sum? Benitez has surely concluded that is not going to happen, and senior St James’ Park sources are already talking of ‘overseas loan deals’ or ‘cut-price additions’. Keep the cost-base down, scramble to safety, and try to reignite takeover discussions in the summer. That is the Ashley way.

The Sports Direct boss will claim his methods have worked in the past – notwithstanding the twin relegations that finally forced him to delve into his pocket – but there are two key differences between this season and last term that should at least force him to ponder the wisdom of refusing to invest.

First, the current relegation battle looks much tighter than last season’s, with a number of Newcastle’s rivals set to splash the cash in January. The Magpies are five points clear of the relegation zone – a decent enough margin at the halfway stage – but they have only claimed four victories and their home record has been poor.

Fulham and Southampton are set to throw money around next month in an attempt to secure survival, and for all that they have been dreadful recently, there has to be a chance Burnley improve markedly if they rediscover anything close to the defensive levels they were hitting last season. It cannot be assumed that just because they have claimed recent away wins at Burnley and Huddersfield, Newcastle will be okay.

Then, there is the issue of Benitez’s future. If Newcastle are to survive for a second season in a row, it will largely be thanks to the tactical brilliance and astute judgement of their manager. Benitez is the glue holding Newcastle together, both in terms of his management of the playing squad and his wider ability to prevent a full-scale mutiny in the stands.

Take him out of the equation, and there is a good chance the whole thing will fall apart, but as things stand, Benitez will be leaving Tyneside when his contract expires in June.

If Ashley fails to back him in yet another window, Benitez will have even more reason to walk. Newcastle’s owner must know that, so a lack of January investment would be a strong signal that Ashley is willing to allow his current manager to leave.

The sportswear magnate has made some dreadful decisions during more than a decade in charge, but pushing Benitez closer to the exit door would comfortably be his worst move.