CIARAN CLARK is confident the strength of Newcastle United’s team spirit will once again be a major factor in their favour this season.

The Magpies picked up their first point of the campaign courtesy of a goalless draw with Cardiff City last weekend, but are about to embark on a daunting run that will see them take on Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal in their next three matches.

They will be without the suspended Isaac Hayden for all of those games – Kenedy will also miss the Chelsea match as he is unable to line up against his permanent employers – and have DeAndre Yedlin and Javier Manquillo nursing injuries sustained in the last fortnight.

After a difficult few weeks off the pitch in the final stages of the transfer window, Newcastle have not really found things any easier on the field since the season began.

However, after unity and togetherness played a major role in the Magpies’ Championship title triumph two years ago, and top-ten finish last term, Clark is confident the strength of the bond within the Newcastle dressing room will be a key factor again this season.

“We’ve got a great team spirit and great attitude within the whole squad, said Clark, who has played ahead of summer signings Fabian Schar and Federico Fernandez in Newcastle’s opening two games. “I think that showed when we went down to ten men against Swansea.

“We kept going, we kept fighting. It could’ve swung our way in the end, and we were a bit unlucky that it didn’t. That’s one thing we’ll always have, that good attitude and commitment no matter who’s playing.

“That’s what helped us through and ultimately got us to where we finished last season. We need to try and keep that because it’s important.”

Had Rafael Benitez overseen a radical overhaul this summer, it might have been hard to retain the spirit that has built up over the last couple of years.

The Magpies manager made seven additions in the close season, and allowed senior players such as Mikel Merino, Dwight Gayle and Aleksandar Mitrovic to leave, but all 11 players that started at Cardiff were on the club’s books last season.

There is a sense of continuity within the dressing room, and while Benitez might have been agitating for more transfers at the start of the month, Newcastle’s players were happy to see the window close with minimal disruption having ensued.

“Once the window shuts, that’s it,” said Clark. “I think everyone’s got their heads screwed on and everyone knows this is the squad. It probably gives everyone a bit more focus and takes everyone’s minds off everything else. It’s full focus on the football side of things.

“We’ve done that. We were unlucky in our first game. I felt we did enough to take at least a point and we could have come away with three (from Cardiff). We’ll take the positives and keep working hard.”

There could still be a limited amount of movement before the window for international transfers and Football League loans closes on August 31, with Newcastle keen to move on Henri Saivet, Rolando Aarons, Achraf Lazaar and Jamie Sterry.

Saivet has held extensive talks with Bursaspor, and is still expected to join the Turkish club despite a week-long delay in announcing the anticipated loan deal.

Bursaspor chairman Ali Ay has agreed the terms of the deal with Newcastle, but is waiting to make a formal announcement until he has also completed the signing of Istanbul Basaksehir striker Tunay Torun.

“We are planning a signing ceremony for both Henri Saivet and Tunay Torun,” confirmed Ay. “It will be a collective signing ceremony.”

Newcastle have also received a loan offer from Oxford United for Freddie Woodman, but are still deciding what to do with the 21-year-old.

Woodman is competing with Karl Darlow and Rob Elliot for the right to deputise for Martin Dubravka, and Benitez remains unsure whether to keep the youngster on Tyneside.