STEVE Bruce is the new head coach of Newcastle United. It might not have been envisaged at the start of the summer, but over the last ten days the appointment has become expected.

Once again, like so often during Mike Ashley’s 13 years in control at St James’ Park, the fans have been left deeply frustrated and angry by developments.

A summer that promised quite a lot in many respects when it seemed Rafa Benitez might actually stay on, and the Bin Zayed Group might have purchased the club, has left fans fearing for the future. Again.

This should not be a reflection of Bruce, though. Even by a manager’s standards who has tended to move around a lot, showing a willingness to move between rivals clubs, including taking on the Sunderland challenge, who could blame him for taking over the Magpies? The club his father supported and where Bruce used to visit himself.

But after landing in China, where a disjointed Newcastle have just been thumped 4-0 in the Asia Trophy, a man of the 59-year-old’s experience should know that this is a firefight from the start. He has a long list of issues to address, and here are five of his main starting points.

HE WILL NEVER BE RAFA BENITEZ

Really? Sorry to disappoint, but it’s true! Bruce will know that he can’t go into St James’ and try to be the Spaniard, either in terms of his tactical acumen or his approach.

Benitez won over the hearts and minds of the supporters by publicly, albeit often cleverly, taking on Ashley while at the same time ensuring Newcastle kept delivering the results required to stay in the Premier League.

Bruce, unfortunately, arrives without a long list of managerial honours on his CV like his Spanish counterpart, just memories of his two-year stint in charge of Sunderland to try to erase from the Geordie memory bank.

He is, though, a likeable man. He is friendly, engaging and knows exactly what it feels like to be a Newcastle fan, left frustrated by years of under achievement. That could help him in the long run, but only results will do – and from August onwards.

IMPROVING SQUAD MORALE

Since Saturday’s journey to China, numerous players have been quick to acknowledge how disappointing it is that Benitez has gone. While that was always going to be difficult for the club to deal with, what has not helped is the length of time it has taken to bring in a replacement.

It is 17 days since his contract ended and Ben Dawson and Neil Redfearn, academy coaches, have had to lead pre-season training. While capable and respected coaches, the circumstances have been difficult for them both.

Players have seen their world-class manager leave and on top of that players like Salomon Rondon, Mo Diame and Ayoze Perez have departed too – without being replaced.

The performance against Wolves smacked of a team in desperate need of a lift already. Remember, this was match one of pre-season and where Wolves looked like they were ready for the new season, Newcastle appeared to be looking for a Great Chinese Wall to hide behind.

SHAKING OFF SUNDERLAND LINKS

As alluded to earlier, Bruce’s two years in charge of Sunderland do not give him the ideal grounding. He played down his Newcastle supporting roots when he was at the Stadium of Light, and now he is readily admitting how he had to take on the challenge of leading his boyhood club.

Bruce knows how to manage in the Premier League. He proved that in leading Sunderland to a tenth-place finish, and he has regularly fought off relegation battles. He might not have the success as a manager that Newcastle fans want, but he can get a team playing confidently – but he will need the fans on side.

To do that it won’t just be about saying the right things in the media, and dealing with the boo boys like he has often had to do at many of his clubs – including Aston Villa recently. He knows that he must make Newcastle exciting to watch and be quick to deliver positive results.

MAKING SURE MIKE ASHLEY SPENDS

Bruce has been told he can spend the £50m which Benitez was going to get this summer. That’s a start.

The challenge he faces, however, is that for the first time in his managerial career he is a head coach, not a manager. He might have a say on who Newcastle sign, but for his three-year contract he will be working with players who are signed above him.

Other clubs work that way, so there is no reason why Newcastle shouldn’t too. Whether Bruce can make a success of such a working environment – particularly under an owner who has shown a reluctance to spend on the playing staff over the years – will be judged in the coming months.

What he does need to ensure is that Ashley does invest in the squad, no matter who it is who is giving the final go-ahead for the signings.

SIGNING A NEW STRIKER – AND MORE

Newcastle’s squad is in desperate need of new recruits across the pitch. Full-backs, midfielders, wingers, the lot. What Newcastle need more than anything else is a striker.

Hoffenheim’s Brazilian Joelinton is the top attacking target, and it seems like Ashley is ready to sanction a £40m offer for a player who does have the potential to see his resale value increase.

Rondon, Perez and, just this week, Joselu have left since the end of last season, leaving Dwight Gayle and Yoshinori Muto as Newcastle’s main strikers.

Bruce only has a few weeks before the window closes and the season starts with a game with Arsenal, so there is no time to dawdle – something Newcastle have tended to do.

New signings, a new lease of life and boost to confidence are all required, and new arrivals might at least give supporters something different to think about. But they won’t be holding their breath.