8 Areas Newcastle United Must Improve Upon To Cope With Papiss Cisse's Suspension

3. Clean Sheets Must Become A Regularity And Not A Rarity

Two cleans sheets in their last 17 matches in all competitions had made Cisse's goalscoring even more vital to Newcastle - so without the Senegalese striker, even more focus must shift towards the defence. To be fair, the back four held firm against Aston Villa - although admittedly Tim Sherwood's men were dreadful in front of goal - and almost recorded another shutout against Manchester United before their 89th-minute implosion, but conceding 33 times in 17 games is unsustainable. A goal difference of -11 is denting Newcastle's progress this term. Coloccini really led from the front against Villa, something he has rarely done this season, and he must rally his worryingly-thin defensive resources until the end of the campaign. Everton are next up and they are a side with brittle confidence - keep them quiet for the first 20 minutes at Goodison Park, and the home atmosphere will soon turn sour for the Toffees.