Marc Steutel is convinced there’s still much more to come from Christian James as the classy US star continues to bring some much-needed stability to the Newcastle Eagles backcourt.

Both Jaelin Llwellyn and Jared Bynum have come and gone since the start of the season as the men in black strive for the right mix at home and abroad.

But James has made an immediate impact in a Newcastle jersey and clearly looks the part as an Eagles player — with a start against Leicester Riders firmly in his sights.

“I’m happy with Christian for sure,” said Steutel as he finalised plans for what promises to be a fiery Championship affair in the East Midlands.

“I still don’t think he’s fully acclimated with the group but the fact that he’s still able to influence results — even at this stage — is a positive sign.

“We need to make sure we get Christian up to speed as quickly as we can and that’s a process that we’re trying to work on.

“But his ability to impact the game has been really positive.”

James impressed against Valmiera in midweek only for the Latvians to ruin Newcastle’s 100 per cent European North Basketball League (ENBL) record.

But yet again the Eagles were in contention in the closing stages and a first loss in seven will hardly faze Steutel’s road warriors as they look to unseat the Riders and join London in second place in the Super League Basketball Championship.

Newcastle poured in 38 second quarter points when Leicester visited Tyneside for a Trophy semi-final first leg clash earlier this month.

The dominant hosts led by 17 at the half only for Rob Paternostro’s men to turn the tables after the restart and close the gap to just four on the full-time buzzer.

And both sides will be keen for a greater level of consistency as this month’s three-game mini-series gathers pace.

“It’s not about the first half, second half, fourth quarter,” insisted Steutel. “It’s about the overall performance but with basketball at this level teams go on runs and I think we’ve seen the parity in the league this year.

“Whilst I’ve been really pleased with our toughness and ability to grind out performances and wins, of course we want to be more consistent for longer parts of our play.

“That’s what we’re trying to build. But to go on a six-game winning streak before Valmiera — with some really gritty displays in there — was really positive.”

Leicester warmed up for Newcastle’s visit with the highest score of the Paternostro era as they pummelled hapless Falkirk 130-61 in the SLB Cup on Friday.

And the colourful playcaller can make it 500 career Riders’ wins should he find a way past the Eagles at the Morningside Arena.

To celebrate that landmark victory against Newcastle would be particularly sweet for Paternostro as he renews a rivalry that’s two decades in the making.

But ex-Eagle Duke Shelton — who bagged a double double inside 20 minutes against Falkirk — also has plenty of skin in the game this weekend.

The US forward was unusually quiet when the two teams met nine days ago and a player with plenty to prove against his former paymasters will be one to watch when the action tips off at 3pm.

Fans can watch the game live and free on DAZN with build-up from 2:50pm.