Newcastle boss Matthias Jaissle insists he has the support of the board and players despite growing pressure from a disgruntled fan base.
Newcastle were humiliated after a 1-0 defeat at home to Everton on Monday night – their second loss to the Toffees in four days following last week’s EFL Cup elimination at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
It was also Newcastle’s fourth defeat in five games and 13th in the Premier League table.
Jaissle, who was Eddie Howe’s surprise replacement in the summer, heads to Fulham at the weekend having assured everyone in the squad is heading in the same direction.
“Yes, of course,” he said. “It’s never been in question, at least I’m not aware of. We have such a good group already and such a good relationship that the door is always open and if something isn’t clear, they’re more than happy to talk about it.
“Seeing them in training and seeing how we are, I’m sure everyone understands and is fully committed to it.
“You don’t see the happiest players, but you see on their faces that the players want to react. And they give me the feeling that they want to take responsibility for it. We addressed it. The players addressed it themselves.”
Newcastle players ‘really clear’ on tactics
Although the players sometimes seem confused by the Germans’ tactics, Jaissle is confident that everyone is clear about what is expected of them.
He added: “It’s really clear. Because we lead with an open door, we listen a lot. We don’t just talk. In my style of leadership, it’s important that you listen to the players and we always offer them an open door so that if there’s something unclear, they can come in when they have the chance.
“As always in life and in football, sometimes you want to do your best, but there are days when you don’t and that was the case against Everton. We didn’t show a lot of what we wanted to do.”
I get a good feeling inside the club – Jaissle
Asked if he felt any anxiety about his position at St James’ Park, Jaissle said: “I try not to follow what’s being written, but you get some comments here and there. The best thing is that I got more of a feeling within the club about how connected they are, and that’s something that’s really important in a week where there’s speculation or rumours. It was good to know, it was good to feel those things, but again I didn’t try to distract myself.”
There was mixed news on the injury front ahead of the trip to Craven Cottage with Lewis Miley progressing well and Matias Fernandez-Pardo set to return from a virus, but veteran midfielder Joelinton is set for another spell on the sidelines.
Jaissle said of the Brazilian: “Joelinton is unfortunately injured again and we have to work out the final treatment plan for him and see how long he will be out.”