Matthias Jaissle preaches optimism for Newcastle United after tumultuous summer

Matthias Jaissle spoke about optimism and calm during his official unveiling as the new head coach of Newcastle United, succeeding Eddie Howe in the job.

It has been a summer of massive upheaval and tumult at Tyneside, with the club not only losing Howe, but three massively important players in Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimarães, and Sandro Tonali to Barcelona, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur, respectively. 

Add to that the fact that their primary targets have turned them down, as well as given the ownership’s reluctance to spend more money on the club, the Magpies have failed to build on the promise of the last few years.

Jaissle, however, is undaunted by the formidable prospect of taking this team back to contention for the big honours. The 38-year-old German was dressed for the occasion and did not let the magnitude of the rebuild bog him down as he faced the media and their barrage of questions.

While he was visibly excited with the surroundings, having left the Saudi Pro League for the Premier League, the holy grail for every aspiring manager, the reality that his new side has lost its backbone this summer soon tempered his excitement.

“This is now a vacuum as you call it,” Eddie Howe’s successor said in his excellent English. “They were great characters, great players, ­experienced players. Obviously we are in that transition phase. My job is to make the best out of it all. I am quite optimistic. We are ambitious, that’s the most important thing and why I decided to come here. But it will not happen overnight. I’m pretty sure it will be a successful story. But we need time now.”

He also gave a special mention to current England coach Thomas Tuchel in his growth as a manager. Jaissle and Tuchel go back a long way, with the latter having been the former’s coach when he was starting out as a youth player at Stuttgart.

“It’s been a long connection,” he said. “Thomas was my youth coach when I was a youth player at Stuttgart. He was amazing, I really admire him.

“He’s a really special coach and I’m looking forward to staying in touch with him, and getting insights on the league. That’s something I want to use for sure. But it’s also important to build your own opinions because every coach is their own human being and has their opinions and, ­sometimes players get stuck in a box. It’s ­important for me to be neutral about players.”

With the new Premier League season less than ten days away, Newcastle are still looking to bolster the squad while keeping in touch with the financial regulations. Jaissle, despite his age, has been in the business of football long enough to understand the challenges while still preaching the optimism that is so essential to hear for both players and fans.

“I’m long enough in the industry now that you cannot promise anything,” Jaissle said when asked what he aimed to achieve this season. “It makes no sense to promise you things now because I don’t know how things will look in one year. But it doesn’t make sense to see the negative. There will be more adjustments to the squad this summer. We still have time. I would say keep the optimism.”