Tribal Football

Jaissle in awe of 'unbelievable' St James' Park atmosphere after Newcastle debut

Jaissle in awe of 'unbelievable' St James' Park atmosphere after Newcastle debut
Jaissle in awe of 'unbelievable' St James' Park atmosphere after Newcastle debutREUTERS

Matthias Jaissle took charge of his first competitive game as Newcastle manager in the 2-2 Premier League draw with Liverpool on Sunday (August 23).

It was a particularly emotional afternoon at St James’ Park as both Newcastle and Liverpool paid tribute to the late Kevin Keegan.

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Keegan, who is a legend at the two clubs as a player before going on to manage Newcastle, died at the age of 75 last month following a battle with cancer.

The home side were just second away from a memorable 2-1 win before Lewis Hall brought Liverpool new boy Victor Munoz down in the box.

Dominik Szoboszlai scored the 99th minute penalty and Jaissle had to settle for a single point rather than three in his first game.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, the German admitted his players’ “heads are a little down” following the late draw.

"Their heads are a little down but we know we had many challenges, we're in a huge transition phase at the moment," he said.

On the penalty: "A really soft one, if you give that, they'll be more in the future, I'm not a fan of that."

On the team transition: "It's a brave project but I like the challenge, working with young lads, they were tired. Lewis Miley just came back from an injury but they did an amazing job and it's just about getting adapted to the league."

On how different he finds the Premier League: "The crowd here is unbelievable and the quality. Every change can be decisive and it's something I really enjoy. 

“We're clear in our approach and you can adjust in the game if you plan ahead."

On if there is any more transfer business: "I hope so, today the lads were amazing, a young squad but we have some needs we know internally and we keep that internally. You can count them on one hand."

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