Newcastle head into Monday’s trip to Leeds on the back of an eye-catching start to life under Matthias Jaissle, with the Magpies yet to lose since the German replaced Eddie Howe over the summer.
The early signs are that Jaissle’s Newcastle are going to be one of the most exciting teams to watch in the Premier League this season, with goals flowing at the other end of the pitch too.
The manager spoke about the chances his side are conceding ahead of the trip to Elland Road: “You can see that but you can see also the fact that we have played against really strong opponents in recent matches but as well it is an aspect we can improve.
“Especially as many shots came after I would say not the best clearances from our defensive line or our team in general or they got the second shot, the third shot eventually.
“So we are aware of the situation but we also see then the whole picture. I refer to what I said. Statistics are good and I like to have a look into that but you see all you need to see always in the big picture.”
That defensive fragility was laid bare in their most recent outing at St James’ Park, where Bournemouth were the better side for large parts of the first half and looked the more likely winners before Newcastle rallied. It was arguably the Magpies’ poorest 45 minutes of the season so far, with the Cherries first to every second ball until Harvey Barnes fired in a lifeline out of nowhere.
It was during that game that Jaissle found himself in referee Rob Jones’ book, cautioned for straying outside his technical area as he animatedly encouraged his players from the touchline.
Speaking ahead of Leeds, the Newcastle boss made his feelings on the decision clear, appearing to take a pointed swipe at Arsenal counterpart Mikel Arteta in the process, given the Spaniard’s own well-documented habit of patrolling the edge of his box without punishment.
“I hope I don’t need to adapt. I was really clear that I was disappointed. I made that also really clear in many aspects because, from my point of view,” the Newcastle manager said. “If you’re 20cm outside your box and you encourage and support your team in a positive way, an emotional way, I’m not sure if that’s then a yellow card.
”Also compared to when I’m looking at some of my colleagues…”
Jaissle stopped short of naming Arteta directly, but the inference was hard to miss given how frequently the Arsenal boss has been filmed well outside his technical area over the years and the two clubs’ newfound rivalry formed from some controversial moments in recent head to heads.
Jaissle also dropped a hint over his team selection for the Leeds clash, suggesting Matias Fernandez-Pardo is not far away from starting matches: “Yeah, he’s getting closer. I said that we need to be smart with his load management. Now he’s getting more and more minutes. He has now almost a full training week to Leeds, that helps him a lot.
“I think it’s the first time now since he arrived, and then we can make the decision on Sunday, maybe even on Monday.”
