Newcastle's top brass have sorted it at the back. Now let us have a bit of positive forward thinking before the sun sets over the transfer market. United dug out a hard earned point at Brighton and have now kept two clean sheets upon the opening of a new Premier League season.
Such defiance has been built on the back of shrewd transfer activity by new owners and their lieutenants. Seven players have so far been bought over two transfer windows and five of them have been defenders - Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Sven Botman, Dan Burn, and Matt Targett.
So the back door has been firmly slammed shut when it had been swinging on its hinges but at the other end United are as lightweight as a feather duster. There are two and a half weeks left for that to be addressed and my hope is that those who plot the road to salvation are not put off by the one transfer deal out of their seven that has not so far been an outstanding success.
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Chris Wood cost a significant dollop of cash - £25m is not to be sniffed at - but has scored only two goals in 19 league appearances and while fans were only too keen to give him the benefit of any doubt when his willing work rate helped an unbeaten run last season the truth in a ruthless world is that an awful lot more needs to be forthcoming if United are to continue to progress.
At the Amex it was the defenders of the faith who made their point - Pope showed why he is England class with two breathtaking saves in the second-half when Brighton stepped on the gas and they came after fellow England squad member Kieran Trippier had cleared off the line before half-time.
Later Fabian Schar, who may have been already here but whose career has been resurrected by Howe, likewise towed the line to great effect. Bruno of course has been a revelation since he arrived bossing the midfield but United need more up top both in cover for Callum Wilson and from the wide positions.
If Wilson is injured or off key as here then United lack a cutting edge. Help is required and only the transfer market can bring it. There is no one on the books who will consistently hit the bullseye.
United are running up a huge electricity bill working late into the night on how to negotiate their way round the FFP rules without impacting on what they can spend over the next two years - they are anxious not to blow their full allowance this window leaving them hamstrung in the future.
However to do nothing would equally be a gamble and even if the loan system is the only answer then fans want to see someone brought in-house. They will of course keep the faith because they believe in Eddie Howe and the new owners, just as they believed in Kevin Keegan and the holders of the purse strings back when the Entertainers were being assembled.
Ironically United's best opportunity fell to a defender shortly after the hour mark. Burn, as tall as a tower block, failed to get over the ball from a Trippier corner and his header flew high over the bar. It was in truth a central defender's header. The headlines would certainly have belonged to the Geordie Baresi had he scored the winner on his return to his old south coast home.
Champions Manchester City are next up, and my will they test United's new found confidence at the back, but the Mags need more than a prayer mat in attack to make an impact. Saturday was the birthday of Alan Shearer, United legend and their greatest ever goalscorer, but unfortunately he was reporting for BBC Five Live instead of being on the field of battle in a Magpie shirt.
Had we had a Shearer United would be sitting on six points out of six.
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