NEWCASTLE UNITED have not scored a Premier League goal since the first day of the season, but head coach Steve McClaren is adamant he has the firepower at his disposal to power his team out of the relegation zone.

After spending more than £35m on forwards Aleksandar Mitrovic, Georginio Wijnaldum and Florian Thauvin during the summer, the Magpies were expected to be a more dangerous outfit.

But Newcastle have struggled to create clear cut chances for the forwards and that has led to further talk of McClaren being interested in taking Queens Park Rangers’ Charlie Austin to St James’ Park in January.

But the Newcastle boss does not think there is any need to think about potential signings after the recent spending spree and claims there is enough in his ranks to get the goals with Papiss Cisse and Ayoze Perez around too.

McClaren said: “We signed Mitrovic as a talent who can score goals. He scored goals in Europe so we expect him to. He is a new player, a young player coming in, he has got to adapt in the Premier League. It is the same for everybody.

“I don’t want to say it is unfortunate, but he is suspended for three games. He didn’t play the first two and came late, so he didn’t have a pre-season with us. Like all the players we have signed, they have all got to get used to the Premier League. Some hit the ground running like Chancel Mbemba, and others need a little time to adjust.

“We have got Papiss. I looked at his record last year and he scored 11 goals in 22 games. One in two in the Premier League isn’t bad, so he can score goals in the Premier League. He has got to get the service to do that, we understand that.

“Emmanuel Riviere has been injured since we came and Ayoze has had limited opportunities. We believe that goalscoring is not just the striker, it is the team, and I don’t think we have found the balance or the right team, to get that balance of strong defensively and create and score goals.”

McClaren is happy to admit his team is very much a work in progress as he tries to come up with the best system for his new-look side.

The defeat at West Ham has presented him with plenty of questions, particularly through the middle, and he has hinted there could be a change or two to how his team line-up against Watford this afternoon.

What he is confident of, though, is that his best team will eventually include summer signings Mitrovic, Thauvin, Wijnaldum and Mbemba by the time things settle down and he has worked out the best system to play.

“I would hope so - we would like to think so,” said McClaren. “But it is a process we are getting towards. We have started solidly and played Jack Colback and Vurnon Anita in there as defensive midfield players, which we’ve needed to do in the majority of the games we’ve played. And we have only played five games.

“The only thing is, and it is a concern, but we’ve played two games with ten men and not created a lot, understandably. It is just a process going along, and you’ve got to work on that process and find the best team that can create chances and score. I believe that we have players who can score.”

McClaren, who revealed goalkeeper Karl Darlow is to undergo a scan on an ankle problem sustained in training, remains positive he can turn Newcastle around. He just needs the players to believe too.

He said: “Belief grows, and that will grow with performances and results. I think that has grown to a certain degree in the first four games. It was a terrific performance and result at Manchester United. Nobody expected to get us a point there.

“Transfer that over to West Ham, Arsenal and Swansea and those were always going to be difficult, Southampton first game we got a point. You can look overall and say, you know what, the first eight games, those are tough for a new team and coaching staff trying to create something new and different.

“We knew it was going to be tough and painful and you have to go through it. What you have got to do is, when you get that, like Monday, you have got to get a reaction and we have to get that against Watford.”