Newcastle United's performance director James Bunce has likened Matthias Jaissle's shortened pre-season as Magpies head coach to 'speed dating'. Bunce was addressing the media from the club's La Manga training base and spoke glowingly about the impact of United's new head coach in such a short space of time since Eddie Howe's departure last week.
Leadership Impressed
The leadership team at Newcastle - including sporting director Ross Wilson and CEO David Hopkinson, who called Jaissle a 'rock star' - have all been really impressed with the new manager as he aims to hit the ground running. It is little over two weeks until the Premier League season kicks off against Liverpool and when asked if he harbours concerns over whether Jaissle has enough time to implement his ideas at St James' Park, Bunce gave an interesting analogy in response.
“I think it is an opportunity because it’s speed dating,” Bunce said. “You’ve got no time to waste so every moment counts. We would obviously love more time in football, more opportunity with the players, more sessions but we have an amazing group of staff.”
Staff Integration
“Matthias has come in with his amazing group of staff and the marriage of that is really important to me and Ross and something we have worked really strongly in the process to make sure that would be a good fit. The early signs are amazing – the staff integration, everyone standing up together.”
“We spoke when we introduced Matthias and his staff about how the Liverpool game is not moving. We all need to be on the same path, get to know each other, ask questions, collaborate, integrate and make sure we don’t waste any moment because we have no moment to waste.”
Pre-Season Foundation
“The fact Matthias wasn’t here doesn’t mean we weren’t doing anything in the weeks before. We had Eddie 100% committed and supporting an amazing pre-season – planning, delivering his relentless effort in that as well. The players were already at a good point. Now we just need the small changes that Matthias wants to implement.”
Jaissle himself stressed the need to get on with the job and tackle the challenges full on. He will see his players in action for the first time on Saturday night when they take on Valencia at Mestalla.
“I'm confident to do the best out of that short amount of time,” Jaissle told Chronicle Live. “Of course it's another challenge, because there's not too many days left until the first match against Liverpool, but that's now the phase. You cannot change anything, I cannot ask the sporting director to turn the time back again. So, again, all together, the whole staff, we tried to encourage them in the first meeting already, that now it's even more important that everyone raises the standards, and the same we expect from the players, to find that unity and that DNA of how we want to play football already in the first match.”
