Nick Pope has played his first Newcastle United game since July, with head coach Matthias Jaissle confirming he retains complete trust in the transfer-listed goalkeeper. The 34-year-old England international was made available for transfer in the final month of the summer window and was told he would effectively be number three going into the autumn if he could not find a new club.
Pope's role and return
Pope, who was beaten by Issa Diop and Tom Cairney goals in his last competitive game for Newcastle in May at Craven Cottage, could not secure a late window move despite fleeting interest from Celtic and has remained on Tyneside. Jaissle was happy to keep him in the squad, with Pope working closely with younger stoppers Lukas Hornicek and Ewen Jaouen for the first half of the season.
Both Hornicek and Jaouen were away on international duty this month, leaving Pope as the lead senior keeper. With Jaissle confirming that the French youngster is now sidelined for two months, as reported on October 6, Pope is set to continue on the bench in the run-up to the festive period. Jaissle suggested Pope had featured in the behind-closed-doors friendly with Middlesbrough this week.
Jaissle's praise and experience
Speaking about Pope, Jaissle said: "Yeah, I can only think and say positive words about Nick, and I did that already in my first press conferences when you were asking." He added: "He knows about his role, and he reacted really professionally on that. So on the pitch, in the training, when we need him, in the friendly we played, but also off the pitch."
Jaissle is also happy to lean into Pope's experience, with the keeper starring in 130 matches for Newcastle and making 10 England appearances. Jaissle said: "Of course, due to his experience, he's also a leader, and he refills all the attributes that we need to see from him, and we're all happy that he's with us."
Last appearance and career highs
Pope's last appearance came during Eddie Howe's last match in charge back in July at Ashton Gate, when a 4-1 defeat resulted in alarm bells ringing in the camp. Pope has had a roller-coaster ride between the posts for the Magpies, making iconic saves against Leicester to get Newcastle into the Champions League and making a vital stop at Wembley to deny Liverpool's Curtis Jones to help win the Carabao Cup, but a couple of high-profile errors have also haunted him during his Toon career.
More light was shed on the worrying display just hours later when Howe tendered his resignation after believing he'd taken Newcastle as far as he could.
