Newcastle United are still waiting for their first Premier League win but nearly three months into Steve McClaren’s Tyneside tenure, the mood at St James’ Park has altered significantly.

Arsenal can expect to be greeted by a wall of noise on Saturday at a stadium that often fell eerily silent last season. Optimism reawakened, the Gallowgate End is smiling rather than sullen. This can be put down to a near £50m investment in players – Georginio Wijnaldum, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Chancel Mbemba and Florian Thauvin – that has largely silenced critics of Mike Ashley. It is also the case that behind the scenes much has been done to lift spirits at this most troubled of clubs.

Suits you but mind your language

Steve Black, Newcastle’s new motivational and physical conditioning guru – who was Jonny Wilkinson’s principal mentor – talks about McClaren’s creating a “culture of excellence”. Prime manifestations include a swearing ban and the demand that players turn up sharply suited and booted on match days.

Decreeing bad language taboo stems from the idea that swearing reflects mental laziness, poor communication skills, general indiscipline and loss of control – all highly undesirable footballing traits. It also reflects McClaren’s interest in neuro-linguistic programming.

NLP practitioners see language as a tool enabling people to manage moods, emotions and responses more efficiently. Applied to football, the idea is that educating players in self-awareness can alter their behaviour, thereby ensuring they engage their brains more effectively.

The matchday dress code has provoked unforeseen amusement with Mbemba, the Congolese defender signed from Anderlecht, turning up for his debut against Southampton in a tuxedo. Realising his wardrobe did not contain a suit, Mbemba made an emergency trip to Next and ended up in the evening dress section. An official club outfit is expected to be introduced later this season.

Thursdays are for rest and relaxation

Thursday is now a set day off for a squad who, in recent seasons, have been plagued by non-impact, muscle-related injuries. In a bid to change this, tougher training workouts are staged on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Friday features lighter, tactics-based sessions.

While McClaren, who believes “90%” of his job is about coaching, works with the players, establishing eye contact at every opportunity, Alessandro Schoenmaker monitors fitness levels. Dubbed Mr Muscle, the recently recruited Brazilian sports scientist liaises constantly with Black and the medical department.

Handed a brief to cater for minds as well as bodies, Black devotes considerable time to talking to players, individually and collectively. In an attempt to ensure they listen, not to mention boost concentration levels, phones, iPads and laptops are banned from the training ground. Senior professionals who have turned up five minutes late have been sent home.

Philosophy matters

Newcastle have lacked an identity in recent seasons, with largely counterattacking-based pragmatism the order of the day under Alan Pardew. The new regime – McClaren and his assistants Paul Simpson and Ian Cathro, a 29-year-old Scot poached from La Liga where he made his name as the No2 at Valencia – have a very different manifesto. They want to establish a slightly more possession-based, attack-minded style with play built from the back. No longer defending quite so deep, Newcastle appear to be aiming to press about 10 yards higher up the pitch as the front four endeavour to play between the lines. While gameplans are tailored for individual opponents, crosses are most definitely back in fashion, with Thauvin, the £13m winger from Marseille, earmarked for a key role.

“We’re putting up the statement that we want to be respected in football as an attractive, attacking but effective team,” McClaren says. “I’ve talked to Peter Beardsley [Newcastle’s development coach] and he tells me the crowd like to see the team passing the ball forward not backwards.” Tellingly, the manager reprimanded Cheick Tioté for passing sideways during Tuesday’s League Cup win against Northampton.

Only connect

During recent years, fans have felt increasingly disconnected from the club. In an offensive designed to capture hearts and minds, McClaren and his staff put their names to regular explanatory emails dispatched to all supporters on Newcastle’s database. He has also addressed a fans’ forum and answered supporters’ questions live during a radio phone-in. “When I first arrived, I saw a team that had a lot more talent than results suggested,” wrote Black in one email. “That was my first impression. Another was that if we could get them organised, find out what was driving them and get them motivated – which doesn’t happen overnight – we could move towards creating a probability of success.”

What can possibly go wrong?

Ashley’s policy of signing players under the age of 26, alongside a reluctance to buy British, remains risky. McClaren requires cover for Daryl Janmaat at right-back as well as another striker and, possibly, an extra centre-half. So far, local journalists are very much behind him but Ashley’s insistence on a “preferred media partnership” with the Mirror could yet prove detrimental.