Newcastle United's hierarchy retain complete confidence in head coach Matthias Jaissle, with sources close to the club dismissing reports that Kieran McKenna was being lined up as a potential replacement.
Reports on Sunday, via Givemesport, suggested the former Ipswich Town manager was a contingency plan should Newcastle decide to part ways with Jaissle after just four months in charge. However, sources close to Newcastle chiefs have told Chronicle Live there is no truth in the speculation, and Jaissle remains the man to lead the team at St James' Park for the foreseeable future.
Jaissle's position secure despite testing run
Jaissle was described as a 'rock star' by chief executive David Hopkinson in the summer, while sporting director Ross Wilson wanted to give the German head coach the job on the spot after interviewing him in Portugal before paying Al-Ahli £9.5m for his services.
It is expected that even if Jaissle suffered more bad results in a testing batch of games against Arsenal (h), Brighton (a), Man United (h) and Sunderland (h), Newcastle chiefs would stick by the man they handed a five-year contract to in the summer. McKenna is currently on a career break after a successful stint with Ipswich Town.
While Newcastle chiefs did consider McKenna, they felt that trying to persuade a man who wanted time out of the game to return to top-flight management, just weeks after losing Eddie Howe, who also wanted a break from the game, would not have had the desired chemistry Newcastle are looking for at the moment.
Sporting model and January backing
Newcastle want Jaissle to feed into work with the club's performance director James Bunce as they look to make a success of their sporting model. With 12 points in the bank from 10 games, Newcastle are still very much in the mix for the European places going into the winter period, and Newcastle chiefs will also look to back Jaissle in January, according to sources.
Speaking after the 1-1 draw with Fulham, Jaissle was asked the plan for the next two weeks and said: "It's now time to reflect and recharge also with a long season ahead of us, then pull out the things we need to improve and there are a couple of aspects."
"But today showed a clear direction in the right way so we can build on that."
Leadership backing from the top
Hopkinson said in August: "Matthias is one of the most exciting and highly regarded young coaches in football and I'm thrilled to welcome him to Newcastle United. His track record of success, leadership qualities and relentless drive to improve make him an exceptional fit for Newcastle United. We believe he is the right person to lead the club into the next phase of our journey."
Wilson added: "Matthias' leadership style and football philosophy are strongly aligned with our sporting vision. His teams play high-energy football and we could feel his passion during all of our discussions throughout the recruitment process."
"He has consistently demonstrated an ability to improve players, build cohesive teams and create elite performance environments in his coaching career. His successes at Salzburg and Al-Ahli underline his ability to deliver results while developing a clear football identity. We believe he is uniquely positioned to build on the strong foundations already in place and help take Newcastle United forward."
That stance from Wilson and Hopkinson is not believed to have changed as they look to plan ahead for 2027 and beyond.
