By OkayGoal
Newcastle boss Matthias Jaissle insists he has the support of the board and the players despite growing pressure from a disgruntled fanbase.
Newcastle were booed off following Monday night’s 1-0 defeat at home to Everton – their second loss to the Toffees in four days following the EFL Cup elimination at the Hill Dickinson Stadium last week.
It was also Newcastle’s fourth defeat in five games, leaving them 13th in the Premier League table.
Jaissle, who was the surprise replacement for Eddie Howe in the summer, takes his side to Fulham at the weekend convinced everyone in the squad is pulling in the same direction.
“Yes, of course,” he said. “That was never in question, at least I am not aware of it. We have such a good group and such a good relationship already that the door is always open and if anything is unclear they are more than welcome to talk about it.
“When you see them in training and see how we are doing, I am pretty sure that everyone understands and are fully committed.
“You don’t see the happiest players but you see players in their face that they want to show a reaction. They are also giving me the feeling that they want to be responsible for that. We addressed that. The players addressed that also within themselves.”
Newcastle players ‘really clear’ over tactics
While the players have sometimes looked baffled by the German’s tactics, Jaissle is confident everyone is clear what is expected of them.
He added: “Really clear. As we lead with open doors, we listen a lot. Not only talking. It is important in my leadership style that you listen to the players and we offer them always an open door so if there is anything unclear then they will drop in when they have the chance.
“It’s like always in life and in football, sometimes you want to do your best but it’s a day where you just couldn’t and that was the case against Everton. We didn’t show a lot of things we wanted to do.”
I get a good feeling from within the club – Jaissle
Asked if he feels any concern over his position at St James’ Park, Jaissle said: “I try to not follow things that are written but here and there you get some comments. The nice part is that I got more of a feeling from within the club about how committed they are and that is something really important in a week where there is speculation or rumours. It was good to know, good to feel but I try again in these aspects not to be distracted.”
There was mixed news on the injury front ahead of the trip to Craven Cottage with Lewis Miley progressing nicely and Matias Fernandez-Pardo ready to return from a virus but veteran midfielder Joelinton is set for another spell on the sidelines.
Jaissle said of the Brazilian: “Joelinton unfortunately went out with an injury again and we need to make the final treatment plan for him and see how long he will be out for.”