Matthias Jaissle hosted journalists at the KNOX this week, as Newcastle United's 2026 reboot continues
Matthias Jaissle, manager of Newcastle United
Newcastle United head coach Matthias Jaissle
Matthias Jaissle admitted he was 'guarded' when first meeting the media back in August, just days after accepting the role of Newcastle United head coach. Not that he had anything against football journalists, mind. He was the same when he first met his girlfriend, he quips.
Judging a manager when sat on a Premier League Press stage is always dangerous. What he's like with the cameras rolling and when they are switched off can be two different things and away from the spotlight, Jaissle's charisma shines through.
Jaissle's opening media briefings have included a few one-word answers, a few clipped responses and even questions being bounced back to reporters. He is spending around 50 per cent less time in Press conferences than Eddie Howe and made it clear during this briefing that he would be treating every journalist in equal measure.
This time he's sat in the same room that Joe Kinnear once exploded with reporters and dropped and labelled reporters "negative -----". That was way back in 2008 - a different club, different owner, but same training ground, albeit the facilities have had some TLC since PIF took over.
There is no doubt that Jaissle's guard will go back up as the season intensifies, but the German head coach wants a two-way street with the local media. In a week in which Alan Pardew described the Press in Newcastle as 'toxic' at times, it is clear he wants the relationship to work.
That was evident in the way he opened up on some of the toughest challenges he's faced, not only in his career but in his life.
Jaissle appreciates the journey his players are on after getting a taste of being a Bundesliga star as a youngster who many felt was destined for Germany caps at senior level. But then fate dealt him a cruel hand, a hand that he has worked skilfully with to step on to the Premier League stage as one of the bright young managers in Europe.
When asked to tell a room full of reporters a little more about those early years, Jaissle said: "I was forced to quit, and I was also struggling for a couple of months. I was really down, [it was] tough to get motivated, tough to get your own rhythm again.
"As a footballer, they tell you from morning till evening, and then you lose that structure, so it was not easy. When I think back, there have been many moments that have shaped my career."
Matthias Jaissle spoke with the media this week
Matthias Jaissle spoke with the Press this week(Image: ChronicleLive)
But Jaissle's story runs deeper than just football injuries, as a kid he had to undergo surgery and experienced a start in life that has made him grateful for everyday health. Then, at Hoffenheim, he suffered a devastating ACL and MCL injury when on the brink of a call-up to the Germany squad that left him in a wheelchair for more than four months and briefly “lost and depressed”."
The Toon boss said: "I had a tumour in my neck when I was five years old and I couldn’t move it from side to side. I learned a lot about life then – how important it is to be healthy and how grateful you should be to be healthy and to follow your dream. It was not clear I would be able to play football at that age.
"Unfortunately, I was also really unlucky with injuries. When I was 16, I missed a whole year through injury and that gave me the discipline to fight.
"Then, when I made my debut for Hoffenheim after only eight months, I ruptured my ACL, my meniscus, the cartilage, everything. I was done. I knew then it could be difficult to carry on playing at the highest level. I was only 20 and was about to be called into the national team for the first time.”
Jaissle's emotional story sees flashpoints in Press conferences and football results pale into insignificance for a while. However, it's clear throughout the chat that that he appreciates that it is a results-driven business, but he is delighted with where the team is. He admits that everybody would have "signed up" for a start that sees Newcastle sitting on eight points and in ninth position.
If Newcastle beat Coventry after the international break, they will already have more than a quarter of the so-called "magic 40" some managers see as the first big building block of a successful season.
Jaissle's message is landing each day at Newcastle and his players are seeing a major difference already from the end of the Eddie Howe era. Howe made history for Newcastle and will never be forgotten but insiders insist things had turned "stale".
Looking back on the first handful of matches, Jaissle said: "There were elements in games where we saw a lot of the things we were looking for. There were also phases in games where we were not happy and satisfied. So there’s still a lot of potential that we can improve.
"We need to remind ourselves always, because we have these high demands, that we are not long here now and we haven’t had too much training time.
"So it was tough. It’s really tough, tougher than expected, to get the stuff and the principles implemented into the player’s head."
After almost an hour of chatting, Jaissle gets out of his chair and invites reporters on to the training field to watch him try to put those principles and demands into practice. He oversees the session with a smile on his face and the mood around the camp is notably different to when Newcastle spluttered to 12th place with players, staff and journalists at each others throats just a few months ago.
As autumn kicks in and leaves land on the training pitches of Benton, change is already well and truly underway with Jaissle in charge.