Newcastle United head coach Matthias Jaissle has said he is not shocked by his team's autumn slump after back-to-back defeats, attributing the inconsistent form to a disrupted pre-season following his late appointment.
The Magpies fell to a 1-0 loss against Aston Villa at St James' Park on Saturday night, with boos ringing out at full-time after Jaissle was left frustrated when his defence allowed a free header for Johan Manzambi. The team has been working in training this week ahead of the trip to Crystal Palace, where a win could lift Newcastle back into the top 10.
Transition Phase Blamed for Dip
Jaissle, appointed on August 5, acknowledged that the club's position is a byproduct of an uncertain pre-season. The club was left managerless when Eddie Howe resigned before a compensation wrangle with Al-Ahli unfolded to secure Jaissle's signature.
Asked to assess the recent dip in results, Jaissle told reporters: "It is exactly what we anticipated at the beginning. We joined really late. We almost had no pre-season. There was a huge transition phase of many, many changes on the bench (backroom team)."
"Therefore, it was clear then that there would be ups and downs. We are now on a down so we need to overcome that," he added. "The only thing we can do is work on the things we can control, that is, hard work in training, winning duels better and not giving free headers away. We have clear principles, and if we stick to them, we will see more clean sheets."
Fans' Reaction Understood
As Newcastle head to Croydon at the weekend, they will be backed by 2,806 fans at Palace, with train disruptions and replacement bus services making the journey trickier. Rather than complain about the booing on Saturday, Jaissle made clear he understood the negative reaction.
The former Hoffenheim defender said: "Yeah, they for sure also wished another result, like we did, so that's their right."
"They all come here to celebrate after 90 minutes with the team, for three points in the best occasion, and we couldn't deliver that today. Therefore, we are aware of that and that's normal in football."
