Troy Deeney has given his verdict on Newcastle United's start to the new season under manager Steve Bruce.
The Magpies are 14th in the Premier League table after taking eight points from their opening six fixtures of the 2020-21 campaign.
They have beaten West Ham United and Burnley, drawn with Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers, while losing to Brighton and Manchester United.
Jacob Murphy's late free kick earned Newcastle a creditable 1-1 draw with Wolves at Molineux on Sunday.
However, that has not stopped Bruce - who replaced Rafa Benitez at the helm in the summer of 2019 - from coming in for some criticism over his tactics.
Former Toon ace Kieron Dyer said his old team have been "boring" to watch for the past five years, while ex-Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton accused Newcastle of playing "anti-football" against Wolves.
Now, Deeney has been having his say. The Watford striker, who was linked with a move to St James' Park over the summer before Callum Wilson was signed from Bournemouth, told talkSPORT: "You have to look where they're at now. That's not a dig at Newcastle.
"They've got a really exciting player in Allan (Saint-Maximin), Ryan Fraser is obviously talented, Callum (Wilson) is obviously lightning quick.
"They've got Jonjo (Shelvey) who will pass the ball but that haven't got that person that will turn, drive from midfield and open the game up.
"I think obviously their main aim is to not get beat - I think you see a lot of teams now that their first thought is, 'don't get beat and try to hit on the counter attack' - and (Newcastle) utilise Callum's pace.
"I think it's dificult when you're playing against a Wolves team that are very, very good as well - to go out and be expansive. The players and the pace that they have, you will get picked off."
This approach is a far cry from Kevin Keegan's entertaining side of the 1990s that came so close to winning the league.
"If you remember that team... people were always complaining that they were letting in too many goals anyway," Deeney added.
"So you're never going to win. I think people always want to see an exciting brand of football.
"Now fans can't make it (to stadiums), they are probably looking a bit more intently at every little detail.
"But if you'd said to Newcastle fans at the start of the season, 'you're going to get a draw at Spurs', they would have gone, 'oh, we'll take that'.
"We're talking like they lost. It's a good result. A 1-1 draw away at Wolves - a very good Wolves team and one that is trying to get in the top six this season - is a very good result."
