The scale of the revival job Eddie Howe faces can be revealed - as the Newcastle boss took his first training session.
Howe arrived for his first day at work at 6.45am, with the training ground still in darkness - a stark contrast to the last international break when sacked Steve Bruce took a holiday in Portugal.
That immediately endeared him to Toon fans, who hope Howe’s work-ethic, love of detail and one-to-one nurturing of players can work a miracle on Tyneside.
But a raft of worrying stats facing Howe on day one, meaning it will be a long road back to Premier League safety.
In training on Tuesday afternoon he was filmed doing a passing drill and shouting: “A lot of yous are stood still, stood still is no good…”
Howe will have to be patient in developing a front foot, attacking style, because Newcastle have the lowest possession stats in the league.
They’ve managed 3,506 passes in 11 games, 319 per game, behind even Burnley, and 700 adrift of next weekend's opponents Brentford.
They've had 5,548 touches, ranked 20th, compared to 9,000 by Manchester City.
Only 32 shots on target have been mustered, for 12 goals, well adrift of relegation rivals they need to catch.
It’s been such a scrappy struggle, United stars are top of the league for yellow cards, with 30 bookings.
There is a question mark over the intensity of Newcastle’s midfield and their team pressing, despite playing so much of the game without the ball.
They have made just 88 interceptions, 17th in the league, while the fighters at Burnley lead the way on 144, with Everton and Southampton close to the top.
And they are fourth in the league for being dispossessed (104), despite a lack of time on the ball.
Howe came to training armed with a battle plan.
His options are limited, and come with drawbacks. Jonjo Shelvey is their best passer, but not at winning the ball back.
They lack pace at the back apart from Jamaal Lascelles, but could do with the on the ball ability of Swiss international Fab Schar who has been frozen out of late.
The one strong point Howe has got is a strike force which can score goals. If Callum Wilson stays fit he will score, and but for a cynical foul, would have netted the winner at Brighton.
Allan Saint-Maximin is an unpredictable genius who can unlock defences on his own, but will be more dangerous if freed up in a system based on organised counter attacking, rather than off the cuff, breakaways.
If Howe can find a way of using £40m record signing Joelinton, who works hard, does a tactical job and can pick a pass, but has little end product, that’ll be a bonus. Ditto roadrunner Miguel Almiron.
He has a dilemma at full back - a position he regards as pivotal. The left back incumbent, Matt Ritchie, can’t play in a back four. And on the right neither could Jacob Murphy. More quality is needed in January.
