STEVE McCLAREN claims Newcastle United are still “at the beginning” of their investment plans, and is confident last month’s transfer outlay will help ensure the club successfully avoid relegation this season.

Newcastle spent more than £28m to sign Jonjo Shelvey, Andros Townsend and Henri Saivet ahead of Monday night’s transfer deadline, with Seydou Doumbia also joining on loan, making them the biggest-spending club in the whole of English football.

Their total outlay since the end of last season stands at more than £80m, and after a lengthy spell of under-investment under controversial owner Mike Ashley, the handbrake has been released in anticipation of next season’s lucrative new television deal.

With the Magpies sitting in the bottom three ahead of this evening’s game at Everton, there is still plenty of work to do to ensure the club do not miss out on the forthcoming financial bonanza.

Provided they remain in the Premier League, however, there are already plans in place for further significant spending in the summer.

“I think we said from the outset that is what we wanted,” said McClaren, who will champion a new push for Saido Berahino at the end of the season, by which time the West Brom striker will have entered the final year of his current deal at the Hawthorns. “We wanted to take this club forward, and that will only progress through investment.

“Really, it’s just the beginning. It’s not the end – it’s only the beginning. It started in the summer, and it’s continued in this window.

“I think we said that would happen, and now we’re thinking (of the future). Yeah, most definitely. The squad, when you look, is progressing towards what we ultimately want.”

McClaren has only claimed five league wins since taking over on Tyneside last summer, but can hardly complain about the lack of support he has received from his fellow board members, who remain convinced he is the right man to lead Newcastle’s long-term rebuilding project.

Having repeatedly warned against the dangers of signing too many unproven youngsters from overseas, McClaren was one of the key driving forces behind the acquisition of established England internationals Shelvey and Townsend.

He also persuaded the rest of Newcastle’s recruitment team to sign 28-year-old Doumbia, even though the loan agreement with Roma commits them to a permanent transfer worth around £7m if certain conditions are met.

The former England boss laughed off suggestions that the pressure on his own shoulders has increased as a result of last month’s spending, but concedes that relegation cannot even be contemplated if the club’s future plans are to remain on track.

“We’ve got to start playing and winning, and getting out of it,” he said. “Absolutely right. We’re delighted with what we’ve got, and (it’s) enough to see us through.

“I think we’ve done great business, with four very good signings, and the squad is a lot stronger now than it was at the beginning of the month.

“We needed to improve our squad and our team, in terms of quality and character. We needed to change the make-up of things, and I think we’ve done that. I certainly hope and expect that we’ll be a better team once the players have gelled together and we start moving forward again.”

Townsend is set to go straight into the starting line-up to make his debut at Goodison Park tonight, with Shelvey and Saivet already having featured following their moves from Swansea and Bordeaux.

Doumbia’s participation against Everton continues to hang in the balance, as the Ivory Coast international was still awaiting confirmation of his work visa as the squad prepared to travel to Merseyside yesterday evening.

He is unlikely to start anyway given that he has not played a competitive game for six weeks and has not even trained for a fortnight, but McClaren is hoping his experience of playing in Switzerland, Russia and Italy will ensure he does not need too long to settle into life in the Premier League.

“He’s played top football with top clubs, and has played in the Champions League,” he said. “He scored against Manchester United and Manchester City, so he’s played in big games and has that mentality.

“He’s a goalscorer. He has to adapt quickly, and some players do. I think that as a striker, age doesn’t really matter, but we wanted experience in that too. We’ve seen with (Aleksandar) Mitrovic that a young player can take longer to settle in.

“We feel that a more experienced one, who has played in various leagues around Europe, will have a better chance of settling in. That’s what we hope.”

Paul Dummett will return to tonight’s starting line-up after recovering from a hamstring injury, while Jack Colback could also be involved even though he has only just returned to training following a similar complaint.

Massadio Haidara, Kevin Mbabu and Papiss Cisse are all around three weeks away from full fitness, and should be available for the trip to Stoke on March 2 which will end an 18-day period without a game.

Florian Thauvin will not be involved in the remainder of the season, having re-joined Marseille on loan, but McClaren is adamant the Frenchman still has a future on Tyneside despite having failed to impress so far.

“He’s a good player,” he said. “He’s one of those players who has found it really difficult to adapt to the league, the physicality. Maybe experiencing it, going away and playing, regaining a bit of confidence and coming back in the summer, there’s another opportunity.”

Newcastle (probable): Elliot; Janmaat, Mbemba, Coloccini, Dummett; Saivet, Shelvey; Sissoko, Wijnaldum, Townsend; Mitrovic.