Newcastle United head coach Matthias Jaissle has insisted his team are far better than their showing at Coventry City suggested on Monday night, and has challenged his players to prove it against Aston Villa. However, Jaissle also warned that the side remains firmly in a transitional stage and will need time before they can consistently push for European places.
Transition and injuries
Speaking from a coaching perspective, as Jaissle deals with injuries and integrates youngsters such as Aladji Bamba, Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Sean Steur, the German said: "One thing is for sure - we are still in transition. It is still a process, but that's nothing new for us; we were all aware of that, and you (the media) were aware of that when we met after being appointed in the summer."
"From the moment in pre-season in La Manga, to now, it takes time, and we have had some setbacks as well, especially the injured players," he added.
Newcastle still have Tino Livramento, Jacob Ramsey and Anthony Elanga sidelined through injury, with the trio set to miss the game against Aston Villa at St James' Park. Jaissle insisted it was not his job to conjure up excuses, and he can only work with the players he has available.
Response needed after Coventry defeat
Jaissle and his players were booed by sections of the travelling support after the loss at Coventry, with the head coach apologising after the game. Attention now turns to Villa, who thrashed Fenerbahce in the Champions League.
Jaissle said: "The injury situation has heavily affected us. We don't complain about or make it an excuse, but it is reality. Now we are on the way to finding the next reaction like we did after Leeds to show the fans that we can do better."
He continued: "I try to be balanced, to not start flying. We started the season really well with a draw against Liverpool and a win against Tottenham and so on. We were then stable and we are also stable after defeat in Leeds or after defeat in Coventry."
Blueprint for Aston Villa clash
Newcastle responded well after losing 4-1 at Leeds and pulled off a 2-1 home win over in-form Hull. Jaissle feels that is the perfect blueprint for the game against Aston Villa and said: "I will mention exactly that to my players - they should have the same response. Of course, it's our goal and the lads know they need to show a reaction, we need to show a reaction as a team and I'm optimistic we can do that at home."
England star Dan Burn is expected to be on the bench against Villa, while Joelinton is edging closer to a start after getting half an hour under his belt against the Sky Blues.
