On the Saturday night after Newcastle’s hard-fought draw with Bournemouth, Matthias Jaissle and his coaching staff decided to head out to a city centre Italian restaurant for dinner.
The group were “mobbed” by well-wishers and selfie-hunters and Jaissle and his team were taken aback by the affection coming their way.
He had done his research on Newcastle as a club and place before accepting the task of succeeding Eddie Howe in the summer, but the reverence with which he’s been treated since taking over has “touched” Jaissle, who feels a duty to repay it by delivering a team the supporters can be proud of.
One thing that was imprinted on the minds of Jaissle and his coaching staff after a long match day was the banner that was unfurled in the Gallowgate End by the Wor Flags tifo group that read: “Matty Jaissle’s Black and White Army”. After just a few weeks as manager, it was way more than he expected.
An emotional character
Jaissle may not appear it in press conferences, where he tends to deliver fairly succinct, direct answers, but he is an emotional character as well as an “absolute workaholic”. His ability to “connect” with the players – at 38, he is only a few years older than the senior members of the dressing room – is one thing that has been noted by Newcastle insiders.
He is a believer in regular and honest communication with the squad and Jaissle has been impressed at the character of the dressing room he has inherited. There’s been a willingness to embrace new ideas and he is convinced that with more time on the training ground – which will come as Premier League rivals embark on draining European campaigns into the autumn and winter – this Newcastle team will go from strength to strength.
But there is an acknowledgement that they are far from the finished article, with plenty of room for improvement. Team meetings have focused on chance creation and “dominating” in the final third this week, both areas Jaissle feels they are underperforming in.
If the size of the job is considerable, he has the energy to match it and it is a measure of the man that on Saturday night, after the coaching staff returned to the upmarket hotel that is serving as Jaissle’s base while he house hunts in the North East, he popped open his laptop and started to analyse the 2-2 draw that maintained Newcastle’s impressive unbeaten record.
It has been a whirlwind few weeks for Jaissle, whose working days begin at 7.30am and extend into the early evenings.
In touch with Shearer and Howe
Forays into the city have been rare – that will change during the upcoming international break – although he did enjoy a “relaxed” meal on Tynemouth beach midweek after the stress of a “full-on” transfer window.
He’s also taken time to pick the brains of Newcastle’s all-time record goalscorer Alan Shearer, a conversation that he found particularly enlightening.
Ultimately his life has been made easier by a winning start, with five points from three tough opening Premier League fixtures an impressive return for a new-look team getting to grips with a tweaked style.
Is it sustainable? That has been the narrative on Tyneside this week and Opta’s “expected points” table has Newcastle sitting in 19th, below Coventry City and Fulham. Results are out-performing the underlying metrics.
Jaissle spoke of seeing the “bigger picture” when quizzed about that on Thursday. “We have played some strong teams,” he pointed out, reasonably. And the internal feeling is that when Will Osula returns after the international break – and “crucial” new signing Matias Fernandez-Pardo beds in – they will have the speed to capitalise on the quick breaks and “diagonal” football that are going to be central to Jaissle’s plan.
His promise to staff
There should be encouragement about the way his in-game changes are improving Newcastle. That was identified in the club’s managerial due diligence as a strength of the German’s and so it is proving. Character references they took have also proved prescient.
Because there have been some really nice touches on the quiet. He wrote a letter to all of the club staff before the opening game of the season noting how many of them were Newcastle fans and promising to deliver a team that represented them.
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In midweek he sought out Fabian Schar to emphasise how important he is to him. With his three “captains” – Dan Burn, Joelinton and Malick Thiaw – missing Yoane Wissa was made skipper against Millwall to reflect his hard work behind the scenes.
Jaissle has also talked with Howe, thanking him for what he has inherited at Newcastle. While he believes there is a bright future for the club, Jaissle was mightily impressed in his first few days by the physical condition of the players. It has allowed players like Wissa and Anthony Elanga to hit the ground running in a new way of playing.
Leeds on Monday represents another stiff test for a developing Newcastle side but Jaissle has seen plenty of reasons for confidence. “The unbeaten start is not normal after such a small time together – but we want to continue this journey,” he said.
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