I think we will have a better idea as to our future by the end of this month.

The vital key is how our new midfielders bed-in and can provide a more attacking outlook.

My main worry is that PV is not strong enough to influence the team as he (and the team) continue to make the same mistakes.

If the 'fighting spirit' shown in the Man Utd fracas is translated into a similar attitude on the field I think we shall be safe.

But we do need to improve markedly to make progress.

i would hope that the 3 relegated teams come from the current bottom 4 - Leeds, Everton, Bournemouth and Southampton, however, i am quite worried. The bottom 2 have spent big in the Jan window, so this could come good, and clearly Dyche at Everton is making a difference.

I don't think we have really performed this season, regardless of points to date, and overall we look weaker than last season.
Our 'style' of play is also questionable. We don't have the midfield to pass put from the back, but persist with this every week regardless of personnel - Tomkins and Richard do not possess the passing ability of Andersen.
We have looked vulnerable on the wings all season yet nothing seems to get addressed in games to counter this e.g. Spurs wingbacks had so much freedom to come forward a few weeks ago. At H/T despite playing well i said we needed to cut this supply out. Instead the 1st go came from a cross from the LWB and the 3rd was scored by the RWB.
We play the same formation and team almost every week and our top 4 whilst talented are a pretty lazy bunch with no heading ability.
I have said for ages i am not sure we can play Eze and Olise is the same team alongside Zaha. I think PV is finally realising this.
Ultimately we do not score enough goals. Without goals we will always struggle.
Hopefully PV can sort this out as i want him to succeed, however, things cannot continue as they are now.

De Boer was hardly through the door when he announced his intention to play 532 despite not knowing his players nor whether they were capable of playing the formation.
He alienated the squad , would not adapt, and his reign was short lived.

Similarly Vieira joined and ,before working with the players, immediately announced an intention to ply 433 with ‘one number 6 and two number 8s’ in midfield.
Fortunately we had Gallagher, McArthur and Kouyate who had the right skill set to make the formation work and we played effective and eye catching football.
All looked very promising.
However, this season we haven’t had those three players and I would contend that only Doucoure is comfortable in the ‘one number 6 and two number8’s’ formation.
Schlupp, Eze, Olise, Hughes and Luka have all been tried in the formation and none have looked comfortable.
Our midfield formation this season has neither protected our back four nor provided a good service to our forwards.
The tendency has been to blame the players as not good enough, but it could equally be argued that they don’t suit the roles they are being asked to perform.
Hughes and Luka don’t have the energy and arguably need to play in a 4 or 5 man midfield.
Schlupp and Ayew have physical qualities, but ultimately are not authentic midfield players in their reading of the game.
Eze and Olise have bags of natural talent , but their work off the ball mean they are not suitable to play the number 8 roles.
Maybe the two new additions and the hopeful return of McArthur will mean that we can get the midfield formation to work again.
Nonetheless, it’s difficult to understand why we’ve played the first half of the season with players playing in roles that they struggle with.
Good management is about making the most of available resources and this surely entails playing players in their most effective positions rather than being wedded to a particular tactical formation.

Does anyone know when Andersen is back? He's a big miss

That must've been the last time he scored

You could say the same of the likes of Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton and more recently Ray Wilkins, Tony Adams and Frank Lampard.
Being a great player, and having a great deal more football knowledge than the average fan, does not necessarily equate to being a great manager .
If one accepts the manager is always right ,when his decisions are queried by supporters, you may as well do away with discussion forums.
No doubt managers would be very content with this outcome.