Source: Northern_Echo
Newcastle boss confirms he will sign striker and centre half
CHRIS Hughton has confirmed he will definitely be signing a striker during the January transfer window, after his Newcastle side drew a blank for only the third time this season in a goalless draw with Derby.[LNB] West Brom's 3-1 win at Scunthorpe means the Magpies hold a six-point advantage at the top of the Championship after their final appearance of 2009, but Hughton is already turning his thoughts towards the transfer business that will dominate the opening weeks of 2010.[LNB] With Marlon Harewood having returned to Aston Villa following the end of his loan spell, the Newcastle boss is poised to make a formal approach to Leeds United in an attempt to sign the highly-rated Jermaine Beckford.[LNB] Harewood could yet return to Tyneside if Leeds drag their heels over Beckford's transfer fee, but whatever happens in the next fortnight, Hughton is adamant he needs an extra striker.[LNB] He is keen to supplement an attacking roster that already includes Andy Carroll, Peter Lovenkrands, Shola Ameobi and Nile Ranger.[LNB] An additional centre-half is also on his wanted list following the end of Zurab Khizanishvili's loan deal from Blackburn Rovers.[LNB] We've lost players in two areas in the last couple of weeks, a defender in Khizanishvili and a forward in Harewood, said Hughton. We'll certainly be looking to bring someone in to fill both of those areas next month.[LNB] At the moment, we're still assessing and making decisions, but they're two of the areas that we will look to strengthen.[LNB] We will bring in someone in both of those positions, and we have decisions to make over this next week or so on who the personnel will be.[LNB] Last night's stalemate provided a fittingly disappointing end to 2009, and followed hot on the heels of Saturday's 2-2 draw at Sheffield Wednesday.[LNB] While it is now 11 games since the Magpies were beaten, a return of two points from two matches represents something of a setback given West Brom's maximum return.[LNB] Yesterday's draw was especially frustrating, with Newcastle carving out a succession of chances in the opening 20 minutes and hitting the crossbar twice through Ryan Taylor and Ranger.[LNB] We're disappointed and frustrated because, even here at St James', we've had performances where we haven't played as well as that, but still won, said Hughton.[LNB] We've managed to keep another clean sheet, which is very pleasing, but we didn't convert any of our chances, and I thought we had some good ones during the game.[LNB] Because of the standards we've set, we would have expected to have got more from the two Christmas matches.[LNB] There's no doubt about that. Coming off the back of the draw at Sheffield Wednesday, I think we were all confident that we would win the game. But this is what this league is.[LNB] Newcastle remain eight points clear of Nottingham Forest in the first play-off position, and while they have stuttered somewhat in the last three days, they remain on course for an immediate return to the topflight.[LNB] If you had asked at the start of the season whether we would have been happy to be in this position, the answer would have been yes, said Hughton, who is expected to make a number of changes for Newcastle's FA Cup third-round tie at Plymouth this weekend.[LNB] But we know we have tough times ahead of us.[LNB] There's a group of teams behind us that are pushing very hard, and will continue to make life difficult. We're going to need to maintain a fair amount of what we've had in the first half of the season to give ourselves a chance in that second half.[LNB]
