Nick Pope is yet to play a competitive game for Newcastle this season after being told he has no future on Tyneside
Newcaste United's Nick Pope celebrates against Brighton
Newcaste United's Nick Pope(Image: Mark Runnacles/Shutterstock)
Newcastle United boss Matthias Jaissle has lifted the lid on his goalkeeping selection policy ahead of the Carabao Cup tie at Everton.
A place in the quarter-finals will be up for grabs on Merseyside, but Jaissle has suggested he will not tweak anything between the posts with Lukas Hornicek poised to keep his place. Jaissle had kicked off the competition against West Bromwich Albion, fielding Ewen Jaouen as his cup keeper, but the young Frenchman is out for another month with a hamstring issue.
During Jaouen's injury woes - after also enduring an autumn ankle issue - Jaissle did not hand Pope a chance against Millwall in round three and stuck with Hornicek. As preparations continued against Everton, he vowed to play the strongest XI available.
But Jaissle has suggested he will not make any steps to preserve the fitness of the Czech international against the Toffees, meaning England international Nick Pope is facing a stint on the bench.
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Jaissle told Chronicle Live: "We want to win the match, independent of who is playing. We still have two days to make the final decision, but you can be sure that we want to go with a really strong XI into this game.
"We try to play every match to win. Every competition is important so I do not want to decide on one or the other. That is my approach.
"Of course, I cannot speak on behalf of my coaching colleagues but I think if they are honest, they would also want to win these matches."
When asked if Pope would be left out because he is facing an uncertain future, amid Jaouen's injury, Jaissle said: "It is always a balance right? To rotate, but also, on the other hand, to find stabilisation.
"We rotated in the centre-back and forward positions quite a lot, so now it is also time to bring more stability in more matches to have consecutive wins.
"Therefore, we need to have the right balance, and therefore, you can't expect too many changes."
Newcastle go into the game with Tino Livramento ruled out with a knee injury but question marks over Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Lewis Miley. The Belgian missed the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace due to a sickness bug while Miley has suffered a fresh hamstring injury.
Jaissle, speaking at his Press conference, said: "These two players are still doubtful. There are question marks if they can make it.
"There are still two days, with both we don't want to take any risks. Hopefully, they will soon be back."
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