Steve Bruce is 'sure' that Newcastle United will look 'totally different' come the opening day of the new Premier League season - and the Magpies' head coach is 'very confident' that the club will sign their targets in the next few days.
The black-and-whites' pre-season programme concluded with a 1-0 defeat against Stoke City at St James' Park on Saturday and with a host of players missing, Bruce was only able to name five substitutes on the bench.
Jamaal Lascelles was suspended; Jeff Hendrick and Emil Krafth were on international duty; Martin Dubravka and Dwight Gayle were sidelined; Matt Ritchie missed the game through injury; Ciaran Clark and Paul Dummett have naturally needed extra time to recover from games after their previous lay-offs; and Fabian Schar is on his way back from a dislocated shoulder.
Newcastle are hopeful of signing Callum Wilson, Ryan Fraser and Jamal Lewis before the campaign gets under way against West Ham at the London Stadium and Bruce is confident he will have more options available to him on Saturday.
"I'm sure it will be totally different to the way we looked today," he told NUFC TV. "Jamaal [Lascelles] will be available for a start. It's been a difficult couple of weeks - there's no denying that of course.
"We'll keep bashing away. We're working tirelessly behind the scenes to make one or two things happen. I'm very confident that we can get them over the line in the next few days."
