EDDIE Howe has been encouraged by what he's heard in key meetings with club bosses, including chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, in recent days.
But Newcastle's boss admits improvement is needed across the board if the Magpies are to bridge the gap between themselves and the Premier League side's top sides, including Liverpool, who they face on Wednesday night.
Al-Rumayyan arrived on Tyneside at the weekend to hold talks over the club’s immediate future, including a decision on whether to redevelop St James’ Park or move to a new stadium.
Howe's primary focus has been preparing his side for Wednesday night's game at Anfield, but the head coach has attended several of the meetings.
And he said: “We certainly need, if we are looking to catch the teams above us, to drastically improve everything we are delivering, still.
“That goes right across the board at every department of the football club. We have so much to do to get to the top. It’s not going to happen just by thinking it. It’s not going to happen by willing it. We have to actually deliver it.
“That takes money, that takes investment, that takes smart thinking and strategic thinking, which I know is going on at the club, and then we need to implement it.”
Newcastle head for Anfield looking to build on Sunday's thrilling 4-3 win over Nottingham Forest.
And as he prepares to lock horns with champions elect Liverpool, Howe has challenged Lewis Miley to become his Steven Gerrard.
The 18-year-old midfielder scored Newcastle's first against Forest to confirm his return to full fitness after a back injury which sidelined him for more than seven months last year.
Miley, whose fledgling career includes Champions League starts against Paris St Germain and Inter Milan, is still learning his trade, and head coach Howe believes he could do worse than study the career of Anfield great Gerrard as he plots the way forward.
The 47-year-old said: “Steven Gerrard, I think, is a great one to look at because I think Steven had that same frame Lewie progresses, but he had that yard of pace, he could go box-to-box and he could score goals.”
Miley is still maturing both physically and technically after bursting on to the scene as a 17-year-old in the depths of an injury crisis at St James’ Park, but Howe has high hopes for a young player he is confident has all the weapons required to become a key player for the club.
He said: “He has a really bright future, but he will have all the pitfalls that young players have. He has to stay humble, he has to stay level.
“He needs to concentrate on his training, he needs to listen to his coaches and take on a lot of information that he will get and take it step by step.”
The Magpies will head for Anfield, where they have not won in 28 league visits since their first Premier League trip in 1994 and with injured duo Sven Botman and Joelinton close to returns, having bounced back from a 4-0 defeat at Manchester City with an at times chaotic win over Forest.
