WITH Newcastle United searching for a new manager, there has been a lot of talk over the last few days around long-term planning and visions for the future.

Having completed their takeover of the club almost a fortnight ago, Amanda Staveley and her advisors have big plans and even bigger ambitions. As she outlined in her first round of interviews after replacing Mike Ashley, Staveley wants Newcastle to be challenging for honours at the top end of the Premier League in the next few seasons.

That’s great. On Ashley’s watch, Newcastle had become a club completely devoid of ambition, so supporters will be understandably thrilled to hear their new owner bullishly look forward to a time when the Magpies can take on the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool as equals. For now, though, talk of the Champions League can wait. For the next seven months, staying out of the Championship is Newcastle’s number one priority.

Make no mistake about it, this is a Newcastle side that is already embroiled in a relegation fight. They have picked up three points from their opening eight matches, failing to win any of them. They have conceded two or more goals in six of those eight games, and while there were extenuating circumstances to their most recent defeat against Tottenham, their performance last weekend highlighted deep-rooted issues that need urgently addressing.

Perhaps some of those issues were directly linked to Steve Bruce, and will disappear now there has been a change of boss. Tactically, Bruce was found wanting throughout his Tyneside tenure, and the stories that have leaked out of St James’ Park in the last few months suggests there have been splits in the dressing room that the recently-departed boss was unable to repair. It will be interesting to see how Newcastle line up and fare under the interim care of Graeme Jones at the weekend – the Magpies would not be the first club to undergo a radical transformation following the departure of an unpopular manager.

Yet as Bruce was repeatedly at pains to point out, Newcastle scrapping around in the bottom half of the table is not a new phenomenon. They have been there for the vast majority of the last decade, generally keeping their heads above water thanks to a timely result here or a sudden spurt of decent form there. For all that Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin would walk into the majority of teams in the league, Newcastle have a bottom-half of the table squad with bottom-half of the table players. While the January transfer window offers the potential for a certain amount of change, getting the best out of the current group of players has to be the priority.

It should certainly be the biggest consideration when assessing the list of candidates angling to replace Bruce, with the need for long-term strategic development having to be balanced against the necessity to start securing some positive results in the here and now. It goes without saying that you can forget about the former if the latter does not fall into place.

That does not necessarily mean that prior Premier League experience is essential, but it does help explain why the likes of Eddie Howe and Roberto Martinez have been prominent in discussions this week. Both men have spent a fair amount of time managing clubs in the middle or bottom thirds of the Premier League, and both should be able to get a quick grip on the personnel and tactical issues currently holding Newcastle back.

The likes of Paulo Fonseca and Lucien Favre do not have that kind of English top-flight experience, although their lengthy and successful CVs suggest they are more than capable of moulding a team of winners from a variety of different raw materials. The key, if they are to be appointed though, is that they have to understand the need for immediate improvement as well as long-term planning.

Newcastle have 12 matches between now and the transfer window reopening, almost a third of a season, and by the time Christmas arrives, the league table could make for extremely alarming reading if things carry on as they have been for the last two months.

The fixture list between now and the end of the year contains matches against Chelsea, Arsenal, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Everton. No matter who is in charge, it is going to be a tough task to claim too many points from those games.

So, the other matches in that run, starting with this weekend’s trip to Crystal Palace, are absolutely vital. In an ideal world, the Magpies will claim their first win of the season this weekend and Jones will have bought the new regime some time. If things do not go to plan at Selhurst Park, though, it will already be time to rip up Plan B and move on to Plan C, even if that means having to shelve some of the strategic planning that is already taking place.

As the events of the last week-and-a-half have proved, Newcastle do not have the luxury of being able to allow things to drift. Decisive action is required, and if that means appointing the kind of stop-gap manager that was never part of the original business plan, so be it.

In terms of remaining in the Premier League, the end will undoubtedly justify the means. Assuming Newcastle retain their top-flight status, next summer will be the ideal time to put some strategic building blocks in place. For now, with the Magpies already three points adrift of safety, staying up is the be all and end all.