Steve Bruce does not want to bring in a 'whole new team' this summer but the Newcastle United head coach has warned that the Magpies 'need to keep getting better and stronger' or they will be left behind.
The challenge for Newcastle going forward is to build on last season's 12th-placed finish and bridge a 14-point gap to break into the top 10.
Although Newcastle's finances have been hit by the pandemic, and a lack of match day revenue, Bruce hopes to make at least three or four quality signings this summer.
Bruce is again keeping a close eye on players who are entering the final weeks of their contracts after signing Ryan Fraser, Jeff Hendrick and Mark Gillespie on Bosmans last summer.
Bruce has already held discussions with the club's hierarchy about those targets and, closer to home, the 60-year-old has admitted some 'difficult decisions' have to be made on whether to hand Federico Fernandez and Andy Carroll new deals.
"We can't just automatically change it where we can bring in a whole new team in and we don't want to," he told NUFC TV.
"We've got the makings of a half-decent team as I've said many times.
"We have to add, like everyone else, and you need to keep getting better and stronger in the Premier League otherwise you get left behind so let's see what we can do."
Newcastle have tended to announce their retained and released list in the first week of June in recent years and Christian Atsu has already confirmed that he is leaving the black-and-whites at the end of his contract after nearly five years on the club's books.
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