Matthias Jaissle has set out his first message at Newcastle: the club can talk about the timing, the transition and the summer sales, but he will not use any of it as cover. Appointed just a few weeks before the start of the season, he said the rebuild needs time, while insisting the standards have to stay high.
Newcastle's summer reset
The numbers already show how much has changed. Newcastle have made six signings, Lukas Hornicek, Ewen Jaouen, Amar Dedic, Sean Steur, Aladji Bamba and Bazoumana Toure, and all of them are 24 or under. That is a clear sign of the age profile Jaissle has been handed, and it fits the broader sense of a reset rather than a quick patch-up.
He was blunt about the outside view, saying: "Everyone is somehow against us or do not think we can play a good role in the Premier League. We will try to convince them in a different way that we are able to."
Jaissle also said, "It needs time to start that new journey to proceed in the right direction. You need to give the players time and that's not saying we're not ambitious. No, we are really ambitious and have high goals, high expectations, high demands and live to these standards day in, day out."
The pressure is obvious enough. Newcastle finished 12th last season, and they are currently 17th in the Premier League table with 0 points after 0 matches. The job now is to turn a summer of turnover into something more stable before the window shuts on 1 September.
The injury that shaped him
Jaissle's own career gives some of this attitude its edge. His playing career ended by a serious knee injury when he was 25, and he said that was "the biggest setback in my life so far. I was in a real low at that time."
He expanded on that background by saying he had to stop early, but that it showed him how to see challenges as opportunity. From BBC's interview, his point was simple: the bad break did not stop his path into management, and it left him with a view of adversity that fits a club going through a major reset.
Howe, Keegan and the standard he is inheriting
Jaissle has also been careful to place himself in Newcastle's recent history. He praised H. Howe as "not only a great manager. He's also a great human being," and acknowledged the work that led Newcastle to the EFL Cup in 2025.
He went further back too, saying he had done his research on Kevin Keegan's influence and that the old style known as The Entertainers matched the sort of football he wants to play. Keegan died in July aged 75, and Jaissle's comments tied the club's past to the expectations around his own reign without trying to erase what came before.
He also said Newcastle's historic style under Keegan was known as The Entertainers, and his first public line has been built around the same idea of identity and response. The test now is whether the new signings, the youth profile and the manager's mindset can hold up once the football starts to matter.
The first deadline is 1 September, with more changes still possible before the window closes.
FAQ
Why is Matthias Jaissle saying Newcastle have no excuses?
Jaissle says Newcastle can complain about the timing, the big transition and the summer sales, but he will not. He said the club will have no excuses and that outsiders may doubt Newcastle's level, with the response coming on the pitch.
How has Matthias Jaissle framed Newcastle's summer rebuild?
He says the new journey needs time and that the players must be given time, but he also stressed high goals, high expectations and high demands. Newcastle have made six signings, all aged 24 and under, and there will be changes before the window shuts on 1 September.
What did Matthias Jaissle say about Eddie Howe and Kevin Keegan?
Jaissle praised Eddie Howe as both a great manager and a great human being. He also said he had studied Kevin Keegan's influence and described The Entertainers as a special name for the style he wants Newcastle to play.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
