Newcastle United lie 14th in the Premier League table after Steve Bruce's first four matches in the St. James' Park hot-seat - exactly the same League position, exactly the same results record - a win, a draw and two defeats - and exactly the same points total as Kevin Keegan's Entertainers had after four matches in 1993/4.

Unlike Kevin Keegan, who had been in the manager's job at Newcastle for 18 months winning the old First Division in 1992/3 after saving the club from what would have been a disastrous relegation to the old Third Division in 1992, Bruce has only been in the job for two "whirlwind" months and is still very much finding his feet at the football club.

On the evidence of the first four games, Spurs away apart, Newcastle haven't found a settled formation or line-up yet although that perfect 1-0 away win and performance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will have reassured the players and indeed new manager that they can not only compete with anyone, anywhere but beat the best.

That 1-0 win at Spurs thanks to a marvellous Joelinton all-round performance and goal is comparable to the 1-1 draw Keegan's men secured at Old Trafford back in the day when Newcastle announced their arrival in the big time not just to survive but thrive and Andy Cole's first Premier League goal gave the striker confidence just as Joelinton's excellent strike two weeks ago would have given the Brazilian a big boost.

Indeed, the modern Newcastle United went one better than Keegan's men winning in the home of The Champions League Finalists and it was the first win at a Top 6 team managed by The Magpies - a feat never achieved by Rafa Benitez who lost 12 out of 12 away to Top 6 sides in the last two seasons - since Steve McClaren at Spurs in 2015.

That win apart, Bruce will not look back with too much fondness over his four matches when he finally has a chance to reflect over the international break and might see Saturday in particular as two points dropped against Watford although against both The Hornets and Leicester in The Carabao Cup, deflected goals were Newcastle's undoing.

At Spurs, Newcastle set up and played the game absolutely perfectly - the 5-2-3 formation gave The Magpies a platform of defensive stability with Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff the defensive protectors in front of the back five and enough scope through Joelinton, Almiron then Atsu who replaced the injured Allan Saint-Maximin to break and counter-attack and not only score the winning goal yet threaten more.

Home to Watford, however, and Bruce played a very similar line-up with 5 at the back and the two defensive midfield pivots in a game against the bottom Premier League side that was crying out for more attacking creativity and inspiration that would have been provided by JonJo Shelvey either starting or certainly coming on for half an hour.

Pre-match Shelvey had been realistic about his chances of starting the match:

“I don't expect to play on Saturday against Watford. The team won [at Spurs]. That's football. If I was a manager, I wouldn't change [the starting XI]. If I do go into management, which I hope to one day, I wouldn't change a winning team.
That's just the way it is. The team was outstanding on Sunday - they played really well - and you have to give them another chance. It'll be a big game and if I'm on the bench and called upon, I'll be ready.”

Time after time, Joelinton made runs across the Watford back line yet neither Hayden nor Longstaff, who was misplacing passes a la the Arsenal game, picked him out, something Shelvey with his vision and passing ability would have spotted and executed.

Shelvey showed against Everton last season the impact he can have from the bench on a game, coming on at 2-1 down vs The Toffees and inspiring one of the best results of last season as Newcastle ran out 3-2 winners after JonJo's urgent through balls and set-piece delivery turned the game on its head and The Magpies reaped the rewards & points.

Since a fabulous St. James' Park debut in 2015 against West Ham when he orchestrated a 2-0 win with a hand in both goals including the pass of the season, Shelvey has split opinion among Newcastle fans as much as he has opposing defences with his killer passes yet with a fast striker like Joelinton now leading Newcastle's line and with forwards like Muto, Gayle, Saint-Maximin and Almiron in the black and white ranks, teasing the best out of arguably the club's most creative player is a weapon essential to success in tight, winnable games when the occasion demands.

Equally so, knowing when to go with Hayden and Longstaff together in the middle as exemplified at Spurs away and the home win over Man City is just as important and with Liverpool away the next challenge for Steve Bruce, its likely to be a more defensive side.

Its easy to forget Sean Longstaff only made his Premier League debut as a substitute at Anfield last December and only has 12 top flight games to his name such has been his rapid progress to one of the first names on the team sheet and linked with Man United and England yet he offers more going forward than Hayden and many fans are looking forward to seeing a Shelvey-Longstaff partnership in certain games when more of an attacking emphasis is required.

Will Carroll pick up where he left off in a Newcastle shirt scoring against Liverpool?

The return of Andy Carroll to Newcastle, fitness and as Fate would have it, Liverpool, the club who bought him against his wishes just as he was living his dream of being Newcastle's goalscoring no.9 in January, 2011 is an intriguing prospect before the next game and potentially offers Bruce another attacking dimension as well as another selection dilemma if he comes in and does the business.

Suddenly, after a forward shortage against Watford with only Muto fit on the bench, Newcastle could have a £75M strike force on their hands for games against Brighton, Leicester and Man Utd comprising the club's record signing, Joelinton at £40M and the club's record sale, Carroll at £35M, with Liverpool possibly first on the receiving end.

Steve Bruce certainly hopes so and has already said the 30 year-old front man is having a very positive impact at the club before he makes his second playing debut:

"When I brought him here I asked him: 'You aren't the young Andy anymore, can you be the elder statesman for me?'
"It's horrible for a player to think that. But can you help me with the strikers. We had a striker meeting and he was right in there giving his opinion."
He is the local hero and he knows what it means to play for the club.
"You can already see players attracted to him. They all want to be around him."

Having two power forwards like Joelinton and Carroll in his arsenal would give an extra string to Newcastle and Bruce's tactical bow and a real twin aerial threat if the 6ft 1in Brazilian and 6ft 4in Geordie can be given the crosses and service by the likes of Saint-Maximin, Atsu and Almiron as well as the attacking wing-backs Bruce favours.

If set-pieces by Shelvey and Longstaff, Fabian Schar and Florian Lejeune can be as effective as those provided by Joey Barton during Carroll's first spell with the club the Newcastle fans could be in for a treat when their favourite Geordie runs out once again at St. James' Park with the black and shirt on. Return of the Local Hero indeed...