On the final day of last season, infamous club owner Mike Ashley gave his first ever interview and claimed that Newcastle “will be making their own luck” if relegation was avoided.

As we all know, United emerged victorious over West Ham which allowed them to maintain their Premier League status for at least another year.

Ashley also stated that the club would “bolt the horse”, which gave the Toon faithful some sense of optimism and curiosity.

Then, a few weeks later, when Sky Sports reported that Patrick Vieira was in talks to replace John Carver at the helm, several fans’ optimism increased.

There was continuous talk that Steve McClaren – who had failed at Derby and as England manager – was going to be the one to take charge of the Magpies.

If you had asked all Toon fans which one they would prefer between Vieira and McClaren, the majority would have said the former.

However, it was McClaren who got the job and when he arrived, he revealed that the ambition was “top eight and win a trophy.”

As you can expect, many felt this was immensely far-fetched, but this hard-to-believe quote was another step towards providing the fans with even more optimism.

Fast forward several months later: 26 games gone, and Newcastle are languishing in the relegation zone with relegation a serious possibility.

The appointment of Steve McClaren was one of a multitude of bad decisions made by the hierarchy that could cost the club for years to come.

The fans licked their lips at the prospect of a young, progressive manager like Patrick Vieira or Christophe Galtier taking the reigns of their beloved club.

So, when McClaren was appointed, reservations were immediately made as to whether or not he could take the club to the next level.

As we all know by now, the answer to that is no.

In my opinion, McClaren is a great coach, but in the words of Jonathan Greening, who played under the former England boss: “a good coach does not make a good manager.”

Some of the tactics deployed this season have been questionable, as well as some of the substitutions that have been made during games.

McClaren’s ‘eternal optimist’ character is really starting to anger fans, and rightly so. After a 5-1 defeat, you don’t want to see your manager laughing and smiling, do you?

Newcastle conceded 63 goals last season, a total only worsened by QPR, who finished bottom of the table.

It was clear for all to see that at least three defenders needed to be signed, but during the summer and January’s ‘spending spree’, only one was purchased.

Not only that, but long-time club captain, Fabricio Coloccini, staggeringly received an extended contract after a terrible season in which he lacked leadership and defensive know-how.

At the time of writing, Newcastle have the worst goal difference in the Premier League this season – a woeful -22.

The Magpies’ centre-back pairing for the recent capitulation against Chelsea was Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini – the same pairing they had in the Championship six years ago.

Along with the appointment of McClaren and the inability to solve the gaping defensive problems, the club’s transfer policy has also played its part in the current plight.

For a long time now, Ashley and Charnley have instructed Graham Carr to find young, promising players who could flourish for years to come and eventually move on for a higher fee than what was paid.

£13m and the sacrifice of Remy Cabella was spent on Florian Thauvin, who now finds himself back in Marseille after a torrid few months on Tyneside.

In a few years, the Frenchman could be an exceptional talent, but Newcastle needed players who could come in and make an instant impact.

Aleksandar Mitrovic was signed for around £13m too, and the big Serb has found it hard to score the goals needed for Premier League survival.

There’s no denying that he has amazing potential, but placing all of their eggs in the basket of a 21-year-old striker was a huge gamble.

Essentially, the club has hung players like Mitrovic out to dry by placing huge expectations on their young shoulders.

It was extremely naive to think that “top eight and a trophy” could realistically be achieved with McClaren as head coach, one defender being purchased, Coloccini remaining captain and expecting massive things from Thauvin and Mitrovic straight away.

If the worst becomes reality and Newcastle get relegated, it will be fully deserved and the hierarchy’s questionable decisions will be the main reason for it.