Matthias Jaissle is already convinced that his style of management is a good fit for the “DNA” of Newcastle United, after they beat Tottenham 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.
Jaissle’s tenure with the Magpies had looked set to get off to a winning start on matchday one, but a 99th-minute penalty saw Liverpool rescue a 2-2 draw at St James’ Park.
However, there was to be no late collapse in their second game of the campaign, as goals from Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa in the second half secured all three points.
Across the last five Premier League seasons (since 2022-23), Newcastle have won seven of their nine Premier League meetings with Tottenham (D1 L1) – only Manchester City have more victories over a single team in the competition in that period (eight versus Fulham).
Jaissle only took the reins less than a month prior to the start of the season following Eddie Howe’s shock resignation, but he has needed little time to get up to speed.
The German is the first Newcastle boss to win as many as four points from his first two Premier League games in charge since Sam Allardyce in 2007-08 (also W1 D1).
“It was incredible and I’m really proud,” Jaissle told Sky Sports of his team’s performance.
“We are really proud as a club, as a coaching staff, to see a team on the pitch delivering the match plan at a high level already, but also seeing players fully committed to what we’re doing.
“This is a good start and a moment to enjoy. We also did well last week against Liverpool, therefore it was a step in the right direction again, against a strong opponent with huge signings during the transfer window.
“This is something we were aware of, but how we handled that challenge was amazing.
“It’s always the same as a coach; you try to emphasise where you could potentially stress the opponent. You find gaps, you analyse them, and this is what matters today.
“But in general, we try to keep our principles on the pitch independent of the opponent, and today it worked two or three times.”
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With Spurs having more shots (17 to 11), shots on target (six to two) and expected goals (1.04 to 0.75 xG) than Newcastle, the visitors had to dig deep to take all three points.
They won 52.6% of the total duels in Saturday’s game, coming on strong in the second half after Lukas Hornicek made several impressive saves to keep Spurs at bay early on.
And Jaissle is already seeing signs that Newcastle’s players have adapted to his methods.
“The DNA of Newcastle United is a good fit for the playing style I like to see, so therefore I already saw some similarities in the past,” he added.
“Now we’ve used the time in the most efficient way, and I’m proud to see that working already.”
Jaissle threw former Manchester City midfielder Nico Gonzalez in for an immediate debut following his £50m move earlier this week, and it was his raking pass to the right flank that was knocked down by Amar Dedic – another summer signing – in the build-up to Elanga’s goal.
The transfer window closes on Tuesday, and though Newcastle have already spent heavily to bring in Bazoumana Toure, Aladji Bamba, Sean Steur and Ewen Jaouen – in addition to Nico, Dedic and Hornicek – Jaissle feels more incomings are still possible.
“We are realistic. We have high ambitions and we know what is needed, but the squad is strong,” he said.
“We saw that today, but there are still a couple of days left, and then, we can talk again.”
