MIKE WILLIAMSON is back at Newcastle United following the termination of his loan spell at Wolves – and the 32-year-old could find himself thrust straight into the starting line-up as Steve McClaren ponders a three-man central defence for Sunday’s game with Liverpool.

Williamson was recalled yesterday morning having contributed to three clean sheets during his five matches on loan at Molineux.

The decision to cut short a loan agreement that was due to run until January was partly a response to the hamstring injury that is set to sideline Jamaal Lascelles this weekend.

However, it was also an acknowledgment on the behalf of McClaren that Newcastle’s current defensive system is not working, and that a radical overhaul might be required before Liverpool travel to St James’ Park for Sunday’s televised game.

The Magpies have conceded eight goals in their last two matches, with their central defensive partnership of Fabricio Coloccini and Chancel Mbemba having been repeatedly prised open by both Leicester City and Crystal Palace.

McClaren’s half-time response to the concession of three first-half goals at Selhurst Park was to switch to a five-man backline, with Lascelles joining Coloccini and Mbemba in the central positions.

The ploy was hardly an unqualified success, with Newcastle conceding two more goals as they crashed to a 5-1 defeat, but their second-half display was slightly more solid than their first and McClaren is pondering sticking with the same formation in four days’ time.

Sunderland have kept two clean sheets in a row since Sam Allardyce switched to a five-man defence against Crystal Palace, and McClaren is understood to feel that some extra defensive protection could be required against a Liverpool side that is likely to feature Roberto Firmino and Phillipe Coutinho in a line-up designed to be effective on the counter-attack.

Both Daryl Janmaat and Paul Dummett are reasonably comfortable in wing-back roles, and it is anticipated that a five-man backline will be trialled on the training ground in the next couple of days.

As well as recalling Williamson, a number of supporters have urged McClaren to cut short Adam Armstrong’s spell at Coventry City in order to freshen up Newcastle’s attack.

Armstrong has scored 13 goals in 17 games since moving to the Ricoh Arena in the summer, but despite his fine form in League One, there is no immediate likelihood of him returning to his native North-East.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace coach John Salako has delivered a damning assessment of Newcastle’s performance at Selhurst Park, claiming the Magpies allowed their opponents to “walk all over them”.

“It was a complete contrast (to Palace’s defeat to Sunderland),” said Salako. “Alan Pardew said it, we hate playing against Sam Allardyce because they’re dogged. They came with that back five, they’d been working on it, and they were just going to frustrate us, make it difficult and keep the crowd quiet.

“Newcastle didn’t do that. They didn’t earn the right to win that game, and in the end they let us walk all over them.

“Steve’s got a tough job. He’s got Liverpool and then Spurs, and he’s got to galvanise that squad. It’s all about the spirit, and they’ve got to stop conceding.”