Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle has tempered expectations around his side this season in his first press conference after taking over from Eddie Howe. Once back on that podium, his evident excitement at exchanging Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli for the Premier League was tempered by the sort of realism inevitable at a club that, in Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães, has just sold its three best players.
Howe walked away after nearly five years in the hot seat, while Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes were sold and Kieran Trippier also departed. Newcastle banked nearly £250million from those transfers, but have opted to sign young unproven players with potential as replacements. The Magpies finished a disappointing 12th in the Premier League last season under Howe and Jaissle has refused to state their ambitions this season.
“This is now a vacuum as you call it,” Eddie Howe’s successor said in his excellent English. “They were great characters, great players, experienced players. Obviously we are in that transition phase. My job is to make the best out of it all. I am quite optimistic. We are ambitious, that’s the most important thing and why I decided to come here. But it will not happen overnight. I’m pretty sure it will be a successful story. But we need time now.”
The 38-year-old German was hired from Al-Ahli and is under no illusions over the task facing him. There was little in the way of overarching vision, no big statements or cringy self-aggrandisement, but when it comes to composure and a zen-like form of confidence, Newcastle United’s new head coach gave a masterful performance.
“I’m long enough in the industry now that you cannot promise anything,” Jaissle said when asked what he aimed to achieve this season. “It makes no sense to promise you things now because I don’t know how things will look in one year. But it doesn’t make sense to see the negative. There will be more adjustments to the squad this summer. We still have time. I would say keep the optimism.”