Newcastle's appointment of Graeme Jones as assistant head coach has all the hallmarks of an impending dugout coup. 

The current line is that Jones has been brought in to support Steve Bruce - who has now overseen six straight defeats in all competitions and hasn't won any of Newcastle's last eleven games - and the fact compensation has been paid to Bournemouth to bring him to St. James' Park is evidence of the club's commitment.

And yet, one can logically assume compensation for releasing a coach from their contract will be a lot less than doing the same for an already-employed manager, and thus if a scenario unfolds where Jones is selected to replace Bruce, in the long-run Newcastle are actually doing it on the cheap. 

While that roadmap is obviously just a matter of opinion - you'll be hard-pressed to find any genuine proof at this stage - the warning signs are already there. For starters, Newcastle's coverage of Jones' arrival is far more befitting of a new manager than simply a coaching staff addition. 

He's been gifted a full announcement on the club's website with lush imagery of him in front of the Newcastle crest and was given a nine-minute interview where he talks about coming home - the kind of comments a new manager would make to quickly win over supporters. 

It feels like something between Jones auditioning for the part and the club already conditioning fans to the idea of him taking over as manager. 

As The Chronicle argues, it's unusual for a coach to receive that kind of attention, but then again Jones isn't a usual coach, which again emphasises the theory that his arrival is accompanied by a hidden agenda.

Jones is a former manager himself, albeit one that didn't fare particularly well at Luton, and lost his job as Darren Moore's assistant at West Brom in part because the club had become concerned about his level of influence over the team - particularly in terms of tactics. 

While Bruce is a little too long in the tooth to let himself get dictated to by his own assistant, it nonetheless paints an image of Jones as someone who ultimately sees himself as much more than just a coach and will take extra control if he's afforded it. 

Perhaps more pertinent than all of the above, though, is the lose-lose situation this all leaves Bruce in, even though he's a fan of Jones himself and agreed to his arrival.

He now has someone theoretically qualified to manage Newcastle working directly under him, so if results don't improve Newcastle won't have to look very far for a replacement. On the other hand, if the Magpies do start to pick up some results, the immediate credit will go to Jones rather than Bruce. 

Either way, it's hard to see how Bruce can benefit from Jones coming in, and The Athletic have argued Jones wouldn't have left Bournemouth without assurances of having a long-term role at Newcastle, so it appears their fates definitely aren't intertwined - which in itself creates a rather awkward power balance.

While there will always be debates about whether Mike Ashley's prepared to pay off his current manager when the possibility of a takeover rumbles on, one can imagine a scenario where results are so bad his hand is forced, and Jones then takes the lead for the immediate future.

It stinks of political manoeuvring disguised as an attempt to support Bruce in his hour of need. Stay tuned to see how exactly this unfolds.