Matthias Jaissle has revealed he is not daunted by the double challenge of providing both winning and entertaining football at St James' Park.
The German head coach's arrival on Tyneside came just a fortnight after the death of Kevin Keegan, when Tyneside had been plunged into a state of mourning with a huge floral tribute outside the Gallowgate End capturing worldwide media coverage. Then in Jaissle's first game a tearful farewell between Keegan's two old clubs took place ahead of the 2-2 draw on the Toon chief's Premier League managerial bow.
That goal-laden affair also resulted in Newcastle fans welcoming the ex-Al-Ahli boss with a banner reading: "Matty Jaissle's black and white army", before a ball had even been kicked in earnest in the 2026/27 season. Jaissle has vowed to bring his own brand of vertical football to Newcastle and the Premier League, with Toon stars urged to battle for second balls and close down opposing defences quickly with an intense style of play.
Newcastle 2.0
A similar brand of football brought previous boss Eddie Howe success when lifting the 2025 Carabao Cup, but Jaissle's Newcastle have already been dubbed "Newcastle 2.0" by CEO David Hopkinson, who hails Jaissle as a "rock star" appointment.
Speaking at the KNOX after inviting journalists to the North Tyneside HQ for breakfast on Tuesday, Chronicle Live asked if he could deliver both attacking and entertaining football to the black and white hordes.
Jaissle said: "In the ideal world, there is not too much difference, that's also the reason why I am here and why the club signed me. The club is striving for a clear identity and, fortunately, a playing style, independent of who the coach was in the past years. Therefore, I think it is a great fit for me."
Fine balance challenge
For all Keegan's success at Newcastle, the Magpies still threw away a 12-point lead back in 1996 as the former England boss refused to be pragmatic as the first English title since 1927 edged closer. Keegan argued later in life that had he switched to a more defensive approach he would have been slaughtered for changing tactics, so is the challenge to get that fine balance right.
Jaissle, who will be the man in charge during the 100th anniversary since Newcastle last won the top-flight title, said: "Of course, that is the challenge. I had questions like this, in Salzburg, because the playing style doesn't change really. As a coach, you have a clear identity and clear principles, and I used to say a 4-3 win was nice, it is entertaining for the fans, for you guys in the media, but for the coach, not necessarily so."
Jaissle is getting his feet under the table and spent 90 minutes with journalists on Tuesday morning with an hour briefing behind the scenes and also an open training session as his non-international stars were put through their paces. Jaissle is already loved at Newcastle with his name chanted even after the 4-1 defeat at Leeds as well as that opening day banner.
Fan support
Speaking about the support levels, and asked how that early acceptance felt, Jaissle confesses he was blown away and even invited the fan group Wor Flags to the training ground for a personal thank you.
He said: "Yeah, you can imagine that gives me a great feeling, and I appreciate that a lot. I had the chance to invite those guys to the training ground to say thanks afterwards. I thought it was a special thing to do after such a short amount of time."
When asked to describe what "vertical football" meant before the international break, Jaissle had replied: "Yeah, there are many, many different approaches within that aspect. That's just the principle, being vertical in your approach. So that could be that you go straight away for the long ball, that you don't even try to play out from the goalkeeper, just going for the aerial duels there. But that could be also that you have just the intention to have always the first view deep, try to find the deepest option, if that's always possible. The players' mindset after collecting a second ball, after winning the ball, that the first view is deep, that you have that vertical approach - that should be always there."
