Kevin Nolan has warned owner Mike Ashley the squad needs to be strengthened in the transfer window if Newcastle are to maintain their promotion push. The Magpies slipped from the top of the Championship table on Saturday after a 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest enabled West Brom to overhaul them.

Loan signings Zurab Khizanishvili and specialist full-back Danny Simpson lined up in central defence as caretaker boss Chris Hughton found his resources once again stretched to the limit.

Nolan told the Journal: "We need to strengthen. We have been saying this for a long, long time and it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

"We need to strengthen the squad if we are going to give ourselves the best chance of going up. It's a paper-thin squad and a couple of injuries kill us. It can't be allowed to happen and it is frustrating to have to keep saying it."