There has been a lot of anxiety and frustration, bordering on anger, at Newcastle United this season. But as we pause for the second international break, it is time to take a breath.

Telegraph Sport has been as critical as anyone of some of the over-excitable, misleading and belligerent language used by senior figures to describe the direction of travel over the summer.

There has also been reason to harshly criticise some of the performances under new manager Matthias Jaissle, but are things really as bad as some have made out on Tyneside?

After 10 games, Newcastle are 12th in the table, the same position they finished under Eddie Howe last season. Although there have been causes for concern, there are also some more positive signs emerging.

This is a transition season

It was not Newcastle supporters who said the summer had been a significant success. That was chief executive David Hopkinson and sporting director Ross Wilson.

The vast majority of supporters did not expect the team to mount a challenge for European football in Jaissle’s first season, given a squad that had lost four of its most important players in pre-season. The framing of the summer was a mistake and that has helped fuel the negativity in the stands.

It is the right time to realign and reshape what this campaign is going to deliver. Newcastle are at the start of a rebuild, with eight new signings, the oldest of which was 24. Teething problems are to be expected. Most of the new arrivals are still finding their feet, adjusting to a new league, a new country and a new style of football.

You do not lose five of your best players – Alexander Isak, Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon – in the space of 12 months and expect to get better with younger players signed for their potential over the next three or four years.

This season was always going to be difficult and Jaissle has openly talked about it being a year of transition. He is also a young manager, with no previous experience of the Premier League, who is also going to make mistakes.

There is an argument to be made that everyone needs to be cut some slack. Newcastle have won three, drawn three and lost four of their opening 10 games. That is, for a team that could realistically finish anywhere between 15th and seventh this season, a decent enough return.

Bad defeats do not necessarily mean a bad team

When Newcastle have been poor, they have looked like a bad team. The away defeats to Leeds United and Coventry, as well as the home losses to Aston Villa and Everton, were insipid, disjointed and full of mistakes.

The players looked like they did not know how to implement Jaissle’s vertical football and there were moments when the manager looked like a rabbit in the headlights.

That has fuelled rising anger and the atmosphere inside St James’ Park has been flat and increasingly mutinous. You have to also remember that the vast majority of match-going fans still backed Howe and were devastated when he walked out in July. They are naturally concerned about what follows.

But when you have made so many changes to the squad and are trying to introduce a new way of playing after four-and-a-half years, it is going to take time.

Newcastle have also had good games. The draw against Liverpool, the away win at Tottenham and the home game against Hull. They also looked much better in the draw at Fulham on Saturday. Jaissle is adapting and there was evidence he is becoming more pragmatic at Craven Cottage, where his team looked a lot more fluid on the ball and more solid in defence.

Sean Steur and the midfield balance

At 18, Steur already looks the best of Newcastle’s summer arrivals and there were early indications against Fulham that he could play in a two in the middle of the pitch, whether that is with Nico González or Lewis Miley.

The Dutch teenager was signed as a long-term replacement for Guimaraes when Newcastle insisted their captain would not be sold this summer. The plan was for him to sit and learn behind their talisman for a year, but that was ruined when Guimaraes forced his move to Arsenal.

It means the youngster has had to be thrown in earlier than anticipated, but he is so good on the ball, comfortable taking possession under pressure and is already looking physically stronger. If he is this good after three months, imagine what he will look like in another three to six.

Burn and Thiaw’s blossoming partnership

They played together for the first time against Fulham and the defence immediately looked better through the middle. In turn, that made both full-backs Amar Dedic and Miley more effective at both ends of the pitch.

Burn has the size and power to deal with strong and physical centre forwards, which allowed Thiaw to drop off and, to use an old phrase, sweep up when the ball is played in behind. The German is the most athletic of the Newcastle centre-backs and looked back to his best with Burn alongside him at the weekend.

That bodes well as long as the 34-year-old Burn can stay fit. Burn is a warrior and a leader and a young team needs his reassuring presence.

The new signings will get better

It has long been accepted that players from abroad will need at least six months to adapt to the Premier League. They will make mistakes, they will have to be taken out of the side and there will be games when they struggle to cope with the intensity and speed of English football.

That has certainly been true of Newcastle’s eight new arrivals, while winger Bazoumane Toure and midfielder Aladji Bamba have barely been used by Jaissle as he does not believe they are ready to start games.

None of the new signings can say they have had the immediate impact others predicted upon their arrival, but as with everything this season, patience and understanding are needed.

Goalkeeper Lukasz Hornicek handed Everton a goal last week, but he made some excellent saves against Fulham. Steur is improving all the time and Dedic clearly has talent despite some costly errors.

Getting Matias Fernandez-Pardo fit and settled seems key. The Belgium international was one of Newcastle’s priority targets heading into the summer for a reason. He might not be suited to playing as a centre-forward, but he has the potential to be a dangerous attacking weapon. He is also a clinical finisher in training, which is something this team needs offensively.

Gonzalez looks a little heavy, but his fitness will also improve and although there have been some underwhelming displays, he has also looked a class act at times.

As for Bamba and Toure, they were signed for what they will bring in two years’ time, not necessarily for the here and now. They are both 20 and the plan was for them to grow stronger and more effective as the season progressed.

It is far too early to make a definitive judgment about any of the new signings after 10 games. Yes, it is a concern that some are not ready to start given the size of their fees, but they are all a work in progress.

The same can be said of the team and the manager. After all the upheaval of the summer, Newcastle were always likely to be a midtable team this season. Reactions and expectations need to be tailored to that reality.