Newcastle United head coach Matthias Jaissle insists he does not care about pundits predicting the Magpies will be relegated from the Premier League this season.
A number of prominent voices are predicting a difficult campaign for United this term after a summer of change has seen head coach Eddie Howe leave, as well as key players such as Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier.
Jaissle has replaced Howe in the St James' Park hotseat, while six new players have arrived in the transfer market, none of whom exceed the age of 24.
Jaissle's Defiant Response
It has left Newcastle with a youthful new look and while there is excitement about the new season internally at St James' Park, fears are growing externally about where it has left Newcastle heading into the new campaign. But Jaissle insists he is not worried about the outside noise and reiterated that he and his players will continue to 'control the controllables' on the training ground and on matchdays.
"I don't know because I don't know how they rank us or how they rank me. To be honest, with all the respect, I don't care. It's not something I can influence the opinion of others. We are good in our approach and we can only focus on what we can influence and that will be the same on this whole journey with this team," Jaissle said.
"To bring the sense of that, in the room, I think it's smart from us to avoid the negativity from outside, and there is negativity. You read the newspapers, the media, the social media in particular. So for us, the job is to focus on what we can influence. Control the controllables. This is our approach. We have a couple of days left to prepare in our best way for the match against Liverpool. We can then deliver in the best possible way at that stage."
Youthful Squad and New Signings
Newcastle have signed 24-year-old goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek and full-back Amar Dedic, 20-year-old goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen, midfielder Aladji Bamba and winger Bazoumana Toure and 18-year-old midfielder Sean Steur. It has left Newcastle with a much younger core and Jaissle has admitted he may have to protect his players at times this season from the scrutiny the Premier League brings.
"It's always good when you have young players that you don't put even more pressure from outside on them. They have already a lot of pressure and create a lot of pressure by themselves, stepping up in goals they are maybe not used to have at the moment. From my side they have full confidence and commitment and trust and respect for the journey they have ahead of them and it would be nice if the fans and the media could see it in the same way," Jaissle continued.
Embracing the Underdog Tag
Jaissle appointed Dan Burn as his captain last week and in a press conference over the weekend, the 34-year-old said Newcastle will embrace the underdog tag this season and use it to their advantage - something Jaissle is hoping to harness this term.
"Dan is a leader and as a captain he told you that on purpose because he is realistic of the situation and I totally agree. It can give us a strength. I mentioned in the previous press conferences if there is a good synergy with the fans and I am 100% convinced they will back us, together with the players and the staff members that could create this benefit and we want to use that," Jaissle explained.
And when asked if he is confident they can beat Liverpool at home this weekend, Jaissle defiantly said: "At home, anything is possible."
