Matthias Jaissle, the new manager of Newcastle United, has instructed his players to disregard external negativity as the team prepares for its season opener against Liverpool. The club has experienced a significant departure of key players this summer, including Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, and Anthony Gordon, alongside the departure of former head coach Eddie Howe.
Jaissle acknowledged the external commentary predicting a challenging season for Newcastle. "To bring the sense of that, in the room, I think it’s smart from us to avoid the negativity from outside, and there is negativity," Jaissle stated. "You read the newspapers, the media, the social media in particular."
He emphasized a focus on controllable elements. "So for us, the job is to focus on what we can influence. Control the controllables. This is our approach," Jaissle said. "We have a couple of days left to prepare in our best way for the match against Liverpool. We can then deliver in the best possible way at that stage."
Jaissle, 38, will make his Premier League managerial debut at St. James' Park on Sunday. He addressed doubts about his coaching credentials, stating, "I don't know how they (people) rank us or how they rank me. To be honest, with all the respect, I don't care. It's not something I can influence, the opinion of others. We are good in our approach and we can only focus on what we can influence, and that will be the same on this whole journey with this team."
Newcastle has acquired six new players this summer, with four of them aged 20 or under. Jaissle requested patience regarding the assessment of these young players' contributions early in the season. "It’s always good when you have young players that you don’t put even more pressure from outside on them," he noted. "They have already a lot of pressure and create a lot of pressure by themselves. From my side, they have full confidence and commitment and trust and respect for the journey they have ahead of them - and it would be nice if the fans and the media could see it in the same way."