Newcastle United head coach Matthias Jaissle has faced questions about the sustainability of his style of play just two months into the job, with the team conceding a Premier League-high 97 shots on goal.
Early positives amid defensive concerns
Jaissle was appointed midway through pre-season following Eddie Howe's decision to leave the club two weeks after the summer break. He has had to integrate a new-look squad, a host of signings, and a different tactical approach within a short timeframe. Despite teething problems, the team has collected eight points from their first five Premier League matches and progressed in the Carabao Cup.
Jaissle has admitted that aspects of United's play have not pleased him and that there is room for improvement. The number of efforts on goal conceded—a league-high 97—has been a particular concern, with goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek enduring a difficult start at St James' Park.
Sherwood's warning
Sky Sports pundit Tim Sherwood believes the open style of play will cause more problems, even when senior players like Joelinton and Dan Burn return to shore up the defensive structure. Speaking to MaxFreeBets, Sherwood said: "They need their top players back and they've sold too many of them. I'm not sure what's in store. I like the manager, but I'm not convinced, let's put it that way."
Sherwood added: "I wouldn't be putting them in the Europa League bracket. I would fancy Leeds more than I would Newcastle. It's all change at Newcastle. If you're conceding that many shots at your goal, I mean the goalkeeper's been outstanding at the moment, but it cannot continue."
Jaissle's assessment
Jaissle acknowledged the team's performances have been far from perfect. With several players away on international duty over the last fortnight, he hopes additional training ground work can implement more of his ideas. Reflecting on the opening matches, he said: "There were elements in games where we saw a lot of the things we were looking for. There were also phases in games where we were not happy and satisfied. So there's still a lot of potential that we can improve."
He added: "We need to remind ourselves always, because we have these high demands, that we are not long here now and we haven't had too much training time. So it was tough. It's really tough, tougher than expected, to get the stuff and the principles implemented into the player's head."
