It was an unveiling that started with a handshake, but no one needed reminding that Newcastle United head coach Matthias Jaissle might not be quite so friendly in the coming weeks and months. “Just the first time, guys,” he said as he greeted reporters inside the media suite at St James’ Park.
Jaissle, wearing a black suit and grey shirt, cut a measured figure throughout his first extended news conference since taking charge of the club earlier this month. However, Premier League managers will come up against someone very different on the touchline. Those who know Jaissle best even liken the difference between his on and off the field persona to Jekyll and Hyde.
“I will not change my style because that’s my personality,” the former Al-Ahli and RB Salzburg manager said. “On the touchline, I am emotional, but I need to respect the box a bit more. I’m a bit scared. I hope in the beginning the referees can maybe close their eyes here and there a little. I need to learn that. I had a long touchline in Saudi Arabia, so I think the GPS would be quite high if I had worn it!”
Such fervour was evident even as a player. Jaissle’s first career was ended by a serious knee injury at the age of just 25, but his intense desire to succeed has been a constant, as former Hoffenheim team-mate Chinedu Obasi explained. “Matthias has always been very hungry,” he said. “He’s had that leadership style and been vocal and passionate about the game. He wanted to win.”
Predecessor Eddie Howe shared similar traits, ending Newcastle’s long wait for silverware by winning the EFL Cup in 2025 and qualifying for the Champions League twice. Howe created an environment where players felt safe, uniting the crowd following his appointment nearly five years ago. There were a host of statement victories on Tyneside, but the fortress started to crumble in the second half of last season as Newcastle finished 12th.
Newcastle’s awful away form was well-documented in Howe’s final campaign, but they also lost seven top-flight fixtures on home soil. Making the ground a difficult place for the opposition again will be among Jaissle’s priorities after the 38-year-old and his staff were shown around for the first time. “We were just looking at each other with a big smile, goosebumps,” he said. “Just really special. The guys here who were leading the tour told me how it feels when the crowd are there.”
“When we hopefully play in the way they want to see us – intense football, a vertical approach, aggressive, front-footed – there is a great synergy between the fans and the team.” The squad have become familiar with those principles following a draining training camp in Spain last week, which culminated in a 2-1 win against Valencia.
Goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek said Newcastle want to “show the opponents that they will have a hard time against us”, while defender Malick Thiaw has spoken about the intensity under Jaissle being “really high”. Season ticket holder Adam Stoker believes Jaissle’s playing style will be a “huge positive” as the German looks to build on Howe’s legacy. “We have seen a tiny bit of Jaissle’s ideas now and they seem to be very much in keeping with Newcastle in 2022-23, which was a hugely exciting team to watch,” Stoker said.
Jaissle now has little time to catch his breath before the season opener against Liverpool on Tyneside on 23 August. This is a manager who, like all of the club’s young signings this summer, has never experienced the Premier League before. That brings the unknown, particularly after Newcastle lost key players Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali, and Bruno Guimaraes this summer, which Jaissle said has left a “vacuum”.
But he also sees it as an opportunity. “We are ambitious,” he added. “That is the most important thing. It is why I decided to come here, but this will not happen overnight, especially when you have such a big transition phase now. You need to have a clear goal and wish of where we want to go to. That starts from the decision-makers, the management and the board.”
“Then, if you have that synergy with the fans, the players and the staff to go there, I’m pretty sure it will be a successful story.” Jaissle, who won back-to-back Asian Champions League titles at Al-Ahli, remains focused on the long-term project despite the immediate pressures of the English top flight.
The club’s hierarchy is banking on his tactical rigidity and high-pressing philosophy to restore the energy that defined their recent resurgence. As he prepares for his debut, the focus remains on whether his high-octane touchline antics will translate into the consistent results required to satisfy a demanding St James’ Park faithful.
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