We profile three Newcastle United players who could make the difference against Watford on Saturday

Steve McClaren, for one, will be glad to see the back of 2015 after winning a combined 12 league fixtures with former club Derby County and the Magpies during the calendar year.

The former England, Wolfsburg and FC Twente boss was a long-term target for United owner Mike Ashley who finally got his man after McClaren was sacked by the Rams at the end of last season for failing to reach the Championship play-offs.

Derby had looked well placed for a top-six berth, at least, in February when they led the division.

However, a remarkable slump cost the Rams a shot at promotion and saw McClaren relieved of his job after almost two seasons at Pride Park.

Newcastle spent big in the summer transfer window with an outlay in the region of £53 million. However, with just four Premier League wins to their name this season the Magpies sit in 18th – two points from safety.

Shock back-to-back wins over Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur briefly lifted the north east outfit to 15th but defeats by Everton, West Bromwich Albion and Arsenal have plunged Newcastle into the relegation zone once more.

Here we profile three players who could make the difference against the Hornets on Saturday.

Georginio Wijnaldum: The £14.5 million capture of the versatile attacking midfield signalled the start of a summer’s spending scarcely seen on Tyneside under the frugal stewardship Ashley.

The former PSV Eindhoven captain arrived in England with no little pedigree after four years in the first team of the Netherlands giants.

Wijnaldum, 25, can play in any position across midfield, previously spent four years at Feyenoord before moving to the Philips Stadion in 2011.

Four years at PSV yielded a KNVB Cup and the 2015 Eredivisie title, Wijnaldum’s leaving present as the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of other successful Dutch imports such as Ruud van Nistelrooy and Marc Overmars arrived.

With seven goals in 20 Premier League starts the Rotterdam-born playmaker is Newcastle’s top scorer. Four of those came in the 6-2 demolition job against Norwich City in October – the Magpies’ first top flight win of the season.

Ayoze Perez: The young Spanish forward has enjoyed a increasingly important role at St James’ Park after joining from second tier Tenerife last season.

Perez has scored four times in the league this season and is therefore the club’s top-scoring forward.

His goals against Bournemouth and Spurs earned six points for Newcastle in victories with his winner at White Hart Lane coming in the 90th minute. He was also on target in a 2-2 draw at Chelsea in September.

Heavily linked with a move to Tottenham recently, the 22-year-old cost just £1.6 million when he joined the Magpies from Tenerife in the summer of 2014.

Sixteen goals in 34 Segunda Division appearances were enough to tempt the then boss Alan Pardew into taking a gamble on the young forward.

Perez had reportedly been a target of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Porto when he joined the Magpies and netted seven times in 36 league appearances during his maiden campaign in the north east.

Rob Elliot: The 29-year-old goalkeeper should be back between the sticks for Saturday’s trip to Vicarage Road after missing the defeat at West Brom last weekend.

The Republic of Ireland international has since said he would have thrown up or pass out if he played against the Baggies.

Former Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Karl Darlow deputised in Elliot's absence.

Darlow had been injured when regular number one Tim Krul ruptured his cruciate knee ligament earlier in the season, affording Elliot a rare chance to play having started the season as the club's third choice between the posts.

The former Charlton Athletic keeper has been at St James’ Park since 2011 but has been Krul’s understudy ever since, making just 25 Premier League starts – 11 of which have come this term.

However, in a miserable season for the Tynesiders the form of the 6ft 2in Ireland international has been a rare bright spot.