Newcastle United caretaker manager Graeme Jones believes the Premier League club are locked in a relegation battle and called on the team's new owners to bring in a permanent leader who can rescue their season. Jones took charge after <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2021/10/20/steve-bruce-leaves-newcastle-united-by-mutual-consent/" target="_blank">Steve Bruce departed</a> by mutual consent earlier in October, two weeks after the club was<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2021/10/09/newcastle-face-anxious-struggle-before-the-good-times-can-kick-in-after-takeover/" target="_blank"> taken over by a consortium</a> led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. He guided them to a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace before they suffered a <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2021/10/30/reece-james-stars-as-premier-league-leaders-chelsea-ease-past-winless-newcastle/" target="_blank">3-0 defeat against leaders Chelsea</a> on Saturday that left them second bottom with four points after 10 matches and without a victory. "We're in a relegation battle. There's no question about that," Jones said. "We need to face it like men, stick together and believe we'll come through. "I think it needs a fresh face. The fans were incredible. It's not a style of football the fans are accustomed to - we want to attack people, we want to score goals. "But this is the stage we're in. We haven't kept enough clean sheets and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out what the need is at the minute. "Up to 75 minutes we needed to be in the contest. We were competitive. It was a difficult afternoon, I’m not denying that. We don’t want to play that way. It is where we are at this minute in time. "I haven't spoken to the owners. We'll see what they've got to say." Reports in the UK have suggested that former Roma manager Paulo Fonseca, who was on the radar of Tottenham Hotspur earlier this year, was among the contenders for the job.
