Newcastle missed the chance to climb into the Premier League’s top five after being held to a goalless draw at battling Wolves.
The Champions League-chasing Magpies were looking for a fourth straight league win for the first time since April, but lacked inspiration as striker Nick Woltemade again drew a blank.
The £69m Germany forward, who scored on his Newcastle debut against Wolves in September, now has just three goals in his past 19 games and was replaced by Yoane Wissa in the second half.
Eddie Howe’s side would have gone fifth with a win by two clear goals, but did not manage a shot on target until the 85th minute – although they did move up a place to eighth with this point.
“I don’t think we have the financial ability to do that,” said Howe, when asked if new signings this month could offer his forwards more help.
“I don’t think our attacking output was good enough. There have been similar away games, if people want to accuse us of that, that is totally fair, but we have to find a way to score more goals on the road.
“I was happy with the attitude, endeavour and the effort but the overall quality was missing. In games like that you are looking for an individual moment of brilliance.
“Football is such a strange game, you go back a couple of weeks and we score four against Leeds and looked free scoring and could create in any moment [but] today was a very different game.
“It wasn’t for the want of trying. There were some good moments. Some big moments we didn’t take.”
Rock-bottom Wolves are 14 points from safety and have other priorities, but have rediscovered their drive and – more importantly – their organisation and are unbeaten in five games in all competitions.
While it will almost certainly be too late to save them after failing to win any of their opening 19 games, there is at least growing optimism for the future under boss Rob Edwards.
Much of that comes from teenage breakthrough star Mateus Mane, who hooked a shot at Nick Pope, while Jose Sa saved late efforts from Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton.
Edwards said: “I do think we look more resilient, there’s more belief there. That’s hard to turn around from the position we were, there were a few who were feeling it, feeling the pressure and were maybe a bit vulnerable.
“We’re certainly trending in the right direction. It’s another step forward, a clean sheet against another top team. We are looking solid.
“It was a really solid, spirited performance. I would have loved us to have carried a little more threat but it was difficult to catch them on the counter.
“We didn’t really get the chance to get control of the ball as much as we wanted but overall I’m really pleased.”